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How cold is it?

P

Philip d

Well-known Member
Apparently they used to store cannon balls on a ship on a frame called a "monkey" stacked like so. Sometimes those frames were built out of brass. In extreme cold the brass frame or "monkey" would contract than the cannon "balls" would fall off. That's how cold it is here today.
a252960.jpg
 
Yeah.

The old expression, "Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey", has nothing to do with anthropoidal anatomy. As you said, the rack that held the cannonballs by a cannon was referred to as a "monkey", sometimes made of brass. And since the brass monkey and steel cannon balls contracted at different rates in a cold temperature, sometimes when it got cold enough the cannonballs would fall off the monkey.
 
actually, ACG, there's no need to--it's yet another of those things people pass on mindlessly without bothering to do the least bit of research on--there's no such thing as a brass monkey. -15F here, up from -25 overnight, and heading to a balmy -5 for a high, then back to -20 or so again tonight.
Brass monkey at Snopes
 
I've heard that explanation before.

Sure seems strange something that delicate would be used on a rolling, pitching ship, and expected to function in the worst of situations, as in being under enemy attack!

Is this the best design the engineers of the day could come up with? LOL

And if it were on deck, on a ship, likely there would be spray, so wouldn't the whole thing would be frozen together?
 
Coldest night so far this year, but going to start warming and get above freezing next week.
a252963.jpg
 
So cold that the people i work with probably only 10 or so are wearing shorts. Seen a guy last week in shorts and sandals . dodgeville wi.
 
Pretty stable here next to the big block of ice that is Lake Michigan, yesterday low was 9F, high of 12F. So far today low was 9F, snowing like a mad dog again this morning.
 
Snopes doesn't know everything! I have found info on there to be wrong more than once in my research,as stated the brass monkey was a cannon ball rack in days gone by,-13 here in Northern,Il.
 
That makes perfect sense ,wasn't trying to be right just thought it was funny,never put much thought into if it was true or not lol
 
Feels better out today, never checked but can tell you it was 12 below at ten last night when I brought my wife home from her ankle surgery.
 
We had a -5 overnight in Central Michigan, Son reported -12 this morning near Nashville, MI. Said he threw out a pan of hot water into the air, it exploded into a cloud of ice crystals.
 
51 degrees in the Beautiful Black Hills of SD. Took down the outside Christmas decorations in my shirt sleeves.
 

Sanford,NC airport recorded -1 :shock: Several local folks on facebook took a pix of -1. I remember zero one time back in the early 80's lots of folks with frozen pipes now. The longest its been 32 and under was 159 hr we are now setting a new record 165 hr and counting...

A guy recorded his duck hunting trip this morning the river was froze over.... He must like duck...
 
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