[Hydramada]

http://www.snopes.com/language/stories/brass.htm

Originally Posted by cobra de capell

Cannon Balls - a History Lesson!

It was necessary to keep a good supply of cannonballs near the cannon on
war ships. But how to prevent them from rolling about the deck was the
problem.

The best storage method devised was to stack them as a square based
pyramid, with one ball on top, resting on four, resting on nine, which rested
on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a small
area right ...............