the British Navy says "Balderdash", or some such. They claim shot was *never*
stored that way, but rather on shelves with holes in it.

Sailors referred to this phenonenon as "freezing the balls
of a brass monkey," the keyword being "of", not "off", and hence the
expression
was literally true at the time.

==============================================

Frankly I doubt it (athough it's a good story nevertheless). I
suspect it was used by sailors as a humorous expression just as it is
now, made all the more humorous by the fact that "brass monkeys" did
in fact exist aboard ship.

Sort of a double entendre as it were. (extra style points will be
awarded for the first submission of a triple entendre with half
gainer)