Since I’m still not over my POTC fever (Johnny Depp rocks!), I’ll infect (or re-infect all of you with some pirate trivia :p

“Shiver Me Timbers” actually means “splinter the masts of a ship, especially through cannon fire.”

Many pirates were actually seamen or fishermen who turned to piracy/smuggling because their old source of income failed them. In the case of those who were seamen, they were let off and so were left without jobs. Some pirates are also “forced men” : those who’ve worked in ships that were attacked by pirates and were captured as a result.

The usual punishment for those who’ve been charged with piracy was death: hanging in the West and beheading in the far East (gulp!) However, most pirates end up dying because of disease or shipwreck. Add all these together, and that makes a very short pirating career, averaging only about 2-5 years. That means that they rarely get to enjoy their plunder.

Booty didn’t mean a person’s, er, backside back then (pun intended). It means the goods that pirates have acquired. It’s also sometimes called as plunder or spoils.

Buccaneers were originally pig and cattle farmers, and their names came from the French word “boucan,” which means barbecue - referring to the way they cooked their meat. The word refers to the pirates and privateers based out of the West Indies.

A mutiny is when the crew plots against the captain and overthrows him (hopefully not literally!) to take over command]

Hope you liked those! Arrrr!

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