Yo-ho-ho and a Bottle of Rum: International Talk Like a Pirate Day is coming.
Welcome aboard matey. Grab your Parrot, your peg leg, and your treasure chest, International Talk Like a Pirate Day (ITLAPD) is September 19th. You’re asking yourself how this came about. Was it two drunk friends on Halloween taking their costumes too far? Of course not–drunks never remember their escapades.
It was actually a game of Racquetball. Cap’n Slappy (Mark Summers) fell hard while diving for the ball and shrieked out an “Aaarrr!!.” Ol’ Chumbucket (John Baur) began to joke about how it sounded pirate-like and the two joked further about how funny it would be if everyone in the world talked like a pirate. Seven years later, in 2002, the pair sent a letter outlining the idea of talk like a pirate day to humor columnist Dave Berry, who embraced the concept and promoted it. Media coverage of Berry’s column detailing ITLAPD gained international exposure, prompting people from China to Pakistan to blurt out questions like “Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why me Roger is so jolly?” Cap’n Slappy and Ol’ Chumbucket have since begun selling books, t-shirts, videos, etc. They have developed a loyal following with their online newsletter “The Poopdeck” and Cap’n Slappy has over 1800 followers on Twitter.
Since 2002, ITLAPD has evolved into a fairly well known part of pop culture. Tom Smith recorded the official anthem of the holiday “Talk Like a Pirate Day.” Even Google got involved in this, releasing a pirate version of their site in 2008. Facebook also joined in on the festivities, creating an official pirate language if a user wishes to change their default language settings. Remember on September 19th, we are all pirates. Act accordingly and remember there is no such thing as taking it too far. Just remember Pirate Steve from the movie Dodgeball. This is a way of life.
And if this is seeming a little new to you, we’ve got some great news. Here are a few tips on how you can celebrate this day and parrrrrty like the pirates of the open seas.
Dress Like a Pirate. Find some scallywags and dress up to go on the account. Ye better be ready to stake yer buried treasure!
Talk Like a Pirate. Learn the ways of the waters here. If ye arrrren’t acquanted with the shoutin’ this can help ye out.
Post Like a Pirate. In yer Facebook, ye can go under your Account Settings and change yer language to English (Pirate). That will start yer mornin’ full of adventure with yer landlubbers.
Google Like a Pirate. Go to the Google settings and click the Pirate link under Languages. This way you’ll be quickly findin’ that bottle o’ rum ye left buried many years ago.
Alabaster
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