Search & Rescue Dogs

by **kim** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:01 pm

4.5%?

Kim

by **Merlin** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 5:23 pm

33% was my source, so Mojo's go...

by **Mojo** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 6:25 pm

Yeahhhhhhhhhh [biggrin]

We've all heard the saying "freeze the balls off a brass monkey" but what is a brass monkey???

***And Joe can't answer this - or if she does she's cheated!!!***

by **niki** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 9:42 pm

It was a brass plate on ships with dents in it. It is where they stacked all of the cannon balls.

When it got too cold the metal contracted hence the dents smaller and the balls would roll off hence

"freeze the balls off a brass monkey" [laugh]

by **Mojo** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 3:11 pm

That's god enough for me Niki [biggrin]

Well done!!!

For everyone's info:

The origin and true meaning of this phrase is actually totally unrelated to any form of animal or its testicles. Back in time to the period of the Napoleonic War, the great gunships of this time carried many cannons on various gun decks. As an efficient method of storage and delivery of cannon balls to the cannon for firing, a "Monkey" (this term is used to define a table and/ or a rail) made of brass was used to hold the balls. In very cold temperatures the brass would contract or even break thus allowing the cannon balls to roll off the Monkey onto the gun deck. Hence the sailors would say "it is cold enough to freeze the balls off a Brass Monkey".