DID YOU KNOW...

[Karl Sr.]

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, but 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 other.

The solution was a metal plate called a "Monkey" with 16 round indentations. But, 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 cannon balls would come right off the monkey.

Thus, it was quite literally, "Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey". (And all this time, you thought that was an improper expression, didn't you?)

[ocnslr]

Thanks, Karl. After 28 years in the Navy I learned a lot of those old derivations, and that is one of the better ones.

Here's a couple of others:

In the days of sailing ships, the wind was always from abaft the beam, so the bow, or head, of the ship was the most downwind place onboard. That is where the "toilets" were installed, as wooden planks outboard of the gunwales, with holes in them. Yes, you went forward to the "HEAD", climbed over the gunwale, sat on the board, and took a dump. You can still see these on old ships such as HMS Victory in Portsmouth, England. We still refer to those facilities on a ship as the "HEAD".

On sailing ships, the lines that control the sails are called "Sheets". On those same old ships, many of the big sails had three sheets to control them. If the wind came up suddenly, before you could reduce sail by reefing, you would let one sheet "fly to the wind" to dump some air. If necessary, you could let fly a second sheet, and finally the third sheet. Of course, then the sail was "three sheets to the wind", or completely out of control. We use that same term now to describe a drunken, out-of-control, sailor.

Have more, but only on request.

Cheers,
Brian

[Capt-D]

I like it, Got any more. Allways learning here!!!

-D

[Chilli]

Certainly.... Lets hear a few more... Good stuff there.

[Squidnation]

In the early days of luxury liners the rich and famous would always want to enjoy the morning sun on trans atlantic cruises. It turned out that in order to have this view they would have to have the cabins that face port on the way out and starboard on the way home. Port out/starboard home or otherwise known as the POSH cabins.

[Grumpea]

Pretty cool. Keep the coming!

[ocnslr]

In the early days of luxury liners the rich and famous would always want to enjoy the morning sun on trans atlantic cruises. It turned out that in order to have this view they would have to have the cabins that face port on the way out and starboard on the way home. Port out/starboard home or otherwise known as the POSH cabins.

Well, I understood it to go back to the days of the British Empire in India. Outbound steamers from England to India would be headed East and the starboard cabins would be unbearably hot, so a port-side cabin was booked. Of course, the return Westbound trip would put the sun on port side, so a starboard cabin was booked. The "POSH" was the booking agents abbreviation for the costly dual-cabin arrangement.

Brian

[Murph]

In days of old
when knights were bold
and rubbers were not yet invented
you wrapped a sock around your...

Oh no sorry wrong thread...

[Capt-D]

In days of old
when knights were bold
and rubbers were not yet invented
you wrapped a sock around your...

Oh no sorry wrong thread...

Haaaah!!!

[Murph]

...and babies were prevented

Sorry guys just had to finish it off.