<Li> The purported method of storage of cannonballs ("round shot") is simply false . The shot was not stored on deck continuously on the off - chance that the ship might go into battle . Indeed, decks were kept as clear as possible . </Li> <Li> Furthermore, such a method of storage would result in shot rolling around on deck and causing a hazard in high seas . The shot was stored on the gun or spar decks, in shot racks--longitudinal wooden planks with holes bored into them, known as shot garlands in the Royal Navy, into which round shot was inserted for ready use by the gun crew . </Li> <Li> Shot was not left exposed to the elements where it could rust . Such rust could lead to the ball not flying true or jamming in the barrel and exploding the gun . Indeed, gunners would attempt to remove as many imperfections as possible from the surfaces of balls . </Li> <Li> The physics do not stand up to scrutiny . The contraction of both balls and plate over the range of temperatures involved would not be particularly large . The effect claimed possibly could be reproduced under laboratory conditions with objects engineered to a high precision for this purpose, but it is unlikely it would ever have occurred in real life aboard a warship . </Li>

Where does the term freeze the balls off a brass monkey come from