SEPTEMBER 19, TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY.

[RedXIII]

International Talk Like a Pirate Day is a parodic holiday invented in 1995 by two Americans, John Baur ("Ol' Chum Bucket") and Mark Summers ("Cap'n Slappy"), who proclaimed September 19 each year as the day when everyone in the world should talk like pirates. For example, instead of "hello," an observer of this holiday would greet his mates with "Ahoy, me hearty!" The date was selected because it is the birthday of Summers' ex-wife and would consequently be easy for him to remember.
At first an inside joke between two friends, the holiday gained exposure when Baur and Summers sent a letter about their invented holiday to the American syndicated humor columnist Dave Barry in 2002. Barry liked the idea and promoted the day.<1> There have been reports that this holiday was being celebrated in the New Zealand town of Wainuiomata at least as early as 2000, after local media reported the existence of Talk Like A Pirate Day. Growing media coverage of the holiday after Dave Barry's column has ensured that this event is now celebrated internationally. By 2003, with the release of pirate-themed films such as Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the holiday was established.

Actor Robert Newton, who portrayed Long John Silver in the 1950 Disney film Treasure Island, is the patron saint of Talk Like A Pirate Day. Peg-legs, parrots and treasure maps were all literary inventions of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel, Treasure Island, a book whose influence on pirate culture cannot be overestimated.

The popularity of Talk Like A Pirate Day is part of a growing popularity of pirates in popular culture in the English speaking world. Examples of this can be seen in the endless internet debates over Pirates versus Ninjas, parody pirate related fiction like that written by Gideon Defoe and others.


"Time to sail the seas in search of plunder"

[Oeditpus Rex]

1. Arrr, me hearties!

Let's see what crawled out of the bung hole!

Avast, ye scurvy lubbers! There be pirates here!

[philosophie_en_rose]

2. They were just on Wife Swap!

Bauer's wife switched places with a professional organizer. She had to call Cap'n Slappy for help.

Both of the wifes had huge issues, second only to the organizer's truly mean-spirited daughter.

[livvy]

3. I be celebrating today with me students.

'Tis a fine day fer a bit o'piratin' with a crew of 10 year olds.
Amazin' what yer can teach 'em little ones when yer use a pirate theme.

Set sail fer a fine day, me hearties!

[southernleftylady]

4. Auugghhh matey heres my Captain Cade :)

[RedCloud]

5. Ahoy. Avast and prepare to be boarded...

I be sailin' me great, grand ship me hearties.

I be imbibin' some grog later with me sprogs.

Arr ye celebratin' too?

[stellanoir]

6. Arghhh. . .I was just about to post about this high occasion. . .

http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html