[Public-list] Is this true?

[Gordon Laco]

Hi there Roger - 

Sorry to report that what you found is partly true and partly an old wives
tale.  Balls were indeed stacked in pyramids for which gunners were taught a
formula... But never ever in ships.  Can you imagine how you might keep the
pyramids from falling apart in even a slight seaway?

This storage system was only used for ammunition ashore on immovable
platforms.

Gord #426 




> Albergers,
> 
> My wife sent me this and asked if it were true (apparently, we both have too
> much time on our hands) so I thought I would pose the question to the experts
> on the site.  Hopefully it doesn't break the MOB thread.  I was just jelling
> the idea of suction cup deck shoes.
> 
> All the best; Roger
> 
> 
> I was reading some old time trivia, and this one caught my eye.  Is it true?
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters carried iron
> cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon balls. It was necessary to keep
> a good supply near the cannon. However, how to prevent them from rolling about
> the deck? The best storage method devised was a square-based pyramid with one
> ball on top, resting on four resting on nine, which rested on sixteen. Thus, a
> supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the
> cannon. 
> 
>  
> 
> There was only one problem...how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding or
> rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal plate called a
> "Monkey" with 16 round indentations.
> 
>  
> 
> However, if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to
> it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make "Brass Monkeys." Few
> landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than iron
> when chilled.   Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass
> indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannonballs would come right
> off the monkey. Thus, it was quite literally, "Cold enough to freeze the balls
> off a brass monkey."
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