I almost forgot...

We have a trivia winner.

 

Back in the “olden days” ships would sail to and fro across the globe.  Occasionally they would have to carry items designed to defend themselves and/or offend others.  These items generally took the shape and function of cannons that were specially designed to fling iron balls at other ships with tremendous speed and/or power.  Ideally the ball would go into the other ship and the other ship would go into the water.

Balls, as you know, roll.  Ships, as you know, rock.  If you put little rolly things on a flat something that is all rocky, then what happens is you have a bunch of rolly things all over the place and not precisely where you would like them to be, which is in the side of the other ship as it sinks into the water.

Being somewhat smarter than your average ape, sailor back in the olden days designed a brass tray that was specifically designed to keep the rolly things where they should be and not all over the place.

This tray was called a “Brass Monkey”.

Brass contracts at a different rate than iron or lead when it’s cold.  When it’s especially cold outside, a Brass Monkey will contract so much that the cannon balls would spring up out of their designated spot and go rolling to and fro all about the ship’s deck.  This would only happen, however, when it was cold enough out to “freeze the balls off a brass monkey”.

Congrats, James, your book learnin’ has won you… nothing.  “The offer of $50 to staple your hand to your forehead stands.  It has to be a through and through, and there has to be some stickage of hand to forehead, otherwise you’re just stapling your hand, and I’ve done that for free.”

Alternatively, you can probably expect an e-mail from my friends in Nigeria to help coordinate the transmission of some other prize money.

 

More sailing trivia later this week.