I know opinions are torn about putting cats in costumes, just as they are about LOL cats, but for those of you who support both of these ideas, BuzzFeed’s collection of cat pirates is sure to entertain.

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Just because Talk Like A Pirate Day is over doesn’t mean that it’s too late to enjoy pirate stuff like Etsy seller YellowBugBoutique’s periodic elements pillow that happens to spell out “pirate.” It’s just perfect for all of you science-lovers out there with a penchant for swashbuckling.

Link Via Craftzine

Most of us know about Black Beard, but the pirates with the really ruthless reputations tend to be the ones ignored in pop culture -because who want to idolize creepy, blood-thirsty monsters. For those of you interested in the dark side of history, you’ll certainly enjoy this great Cracked article featuring the most terrifying pirates ever.

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During battles Anne and Mary fought side by side, wearing billowing jackets and long trousers and handkerchiefs wrapped around their heads, wielding a machete and pistol in either hand. “They were very active on board,” another victim later testified, “and wiling to do any Thing.” The summer and early fall of 1720 proved especially lucrative for Rackam’s crew. In September they took seven fishing boats and two sloops near Harbor Island. A few weeks later, Anne and Mary led a raid against a schooner, shooting at the crew as they climbed aboard, cursing as they gathered their plunder: tackle, fifty rolls of tobacco and nine bags of pimento. They held their captives for two days before releasing them.

Even when Rackam surrendered, Anne and Mary held out against the governor’s forces. Read how they came to be pirates and friends, and what happened to these famous seafaring women at Smithsonian’s Past Imperfect blog. Link

Sure Pirates of the Caribbean made millions and millions of dollars, but before it came out, no pirate movie up until that point had ever made a decent profit. It’s one of the many great movies that were serious risks when they were made, Cracked has more.

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Have you ever wondered what a pirate is made of? Now you know, and you can share your newly-gained knowledge with this funny shirt for sale only today on Woot.

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That’s why I was so excited to share these two cool true stories of tongue twister origins with you, along with a quick explanation of why a few common etymology stories you’ve probably heard already aren’t actually true.

Peter Piper

We all know that Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, but who the heck is Peter and why should we care if he’s got pickled or fresh peppers? As it turns out, this story is far more interesting than the simple tongue twister we’re all familiar with.

First off, it’s important to know a little history about the spice trade. You see, a long, long time ago, all spices were referred to by the generic name of “peppers.” They were also incredibly expensive and the companies who ran the spice trade would go out of their way to keep the supply low by rubbing the seeds with lime before selling them so they couldn’t germinate if planted. The practice was called “pickling.”

As for Peter Piper, he was actually a French pirate and horticulturalist named “Pierre Poivre” (which has become Anglicized into Peter Piper). Pierre was known for raiding spice stores so he could grow them in his garden in Seychelles and hopefully make spices more affordable and accessible for the average European. The rhyme comes from the fact that there were at least a few occasions where Peter Piper picked pickled peppers that wouldn’t grow in his garden.

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She Sells Seashells

Personally, I never thought much about the girl who sold seashells by the seashore. But as it turns out, the woman who was made famous in this terribly difficult tongue twister is actually quite the scientist.

Mary Anning enjoyed collecting seashells and fossils ever since her dad taught her how to dig up fossils when she was a little girl. The duo then sold their specimens to beach tourists and she became so famous in this role that Terry Sullivan eventually even wrote the famous tongue twister about her.

Then, in 1811, Anning’s brother noticed a skull sticking out of a cliff near her home. Mary was fascinated by the skull and started digging it out the ground, soon finding a massive skeleton of what she believed was a crocodile. As it turned out though, the giant croc was actually a dinosaur that later was named Ichthyosaurus. As this occurred at a time when most people still didn’t believe in dinosaurs, it was kind of a big deal.

Mary was proud of her discovery and went on discovering more and more dino skeletons, including fossils for a Plesiosaurus, a Pterodactyl and a Squaloraja. These days, many people credit Mary Anning with founding modern day paleontology –and you thought she was just a seashell dealer.

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Of course, not all nursery rhyme origins stories are to be believed. Here are a few very untrue, but widely-believed stories about nursery rhyme origins:

Ring Around The Rosie

Perhaps the most common nursery rhyme origins story is the one explaining how Ring Around The Rosie is actually about the Bubonic Plague. I’m sure many of you have heard this one before, as it’s pretty prevalent. The stories explain that “ring around the rosie” refers to symptoms of the disease and the ending “we all fall down” is about everyone dying from the devastating disease.

The problem with this theory? To start with, the plague first appeared in Europe in the 1300’s and the last major wave of the plague died out in the 1600’s, but the nursery rhyme was never published until Kate Greenaway’s Mother Goose in 1881. Sure the story could have been passed down orally, but it seems like something that old would have at least been mentioned in some form of written language long before the late nineteenth century.

Also, while there is one generally accepted version of the rhyme in modern times, there used to be a wide variety of regional differences in the lyrics –most of which don’t match the plague story at all. These variations all came around at the same time the song was published. It seems strange that the rhyme would be sung for hundreds of years, but suddenly there would be a dozen versions popping up all in a matter of years,

Even the explanations of the plague connections vary. In fact, the “pocket full of posies” line has been interpreted to mean people carried posies to ward off the disease, that the posies were used to cover up the stench of the sickness, to be placed on the graves of the dead and that the phrase was used as a description of the puss-filled sores of the victims. If the plague story was true, don’t you think the lyrics would be a little more obvious?

What seems more likely is Folklorist Philip Hiscock’s suggestion that the song and related dance were created when Protestants banned formal dancing in their communities. The ring was literally a circle of children in a ring and everyone presumably fell down in a pile after the rhyme and dance were over. It might not be as exciting as the plague story, but it certainly seems a lot more believable.

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Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

Another widely accepted nursery rhyme origin says that “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary” was about Queen Mary and her crazed murdering of hundreds of English Protestants. The story says that “how does your garden grow” refers to the growing size of graveyards, that “silver bells and cockleshells” is supposed to represent the torture devices she used before the executions and that “pretty maids all in a row” was a reference to people being killed in a line at either the guillotine or the gallows.

Of course, people also try to say it’s about Mary, Queen of Scotts and her inability to have children. So if it was true, don’t you think it would be a little more direct about the person or subject in question?

But the biggest piece of proof that these explanations aren’t true is the simple fact that this rhyme wasn’t published or mentioned at any point until the 1800’s –a good two hundred years after either queen was in power. Given how stretched the explanations seem, are you really surprised that these tales probably aren’t true?

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There are tons of these stories out there, many of which are true, so let’s share! Know a rhyme’s origin story to be true or false? Share it in the comments or, feel free to ask the other readers information about your favorite nursery rhyme’s origins.

These days, it seems there’s a tool to alter photos into just about every character type you can imagine, but if you can’t get enough of these…or if you just love Captain Jack Sparrow, don’t miss out on Disney’s Pirate Yourself app on FaceBook. That’s mine up there.

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Pirates. Nasty and frightening to all people around them. If you see any, run for your life! Here are some of the infamous ones you should read about.

Avast! The entire world has become enthralled by pirates recently. While during their own time they were mostly considered to be frightening outlaws, several were actually sanctioned by their countries of birth to pirate for the causes of their nation. As long as these pirates attacked and robbed the ships of other countries, the country of their birth would not prosecute them as thieves for a small cut of their plunder. However, many decided to be free agents who only gave money to the state once they were caught and about to be hanged for their crimes. Today they are seen as noble ruffians who were merely going against the establishment of the past. Even though modern people have a soft spot for these sea-faring brigands, their vicious acts cannot be ignored. Here is a look at the top ten most infamous pirates with hearts of ice.

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From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by peraperic.

It is a lucrative business that has drawn financiers from the Somali diaspora and other nations — and now the gangs in Haradheere have set up an exchange to manage their investments.[...]

“Four months ago, during the monsoon rains, we decided to set up this stock exchange. We started with 15 ‘maritime companies’ and now we are hosting 72. Ten of them have so far been successful at hijacking,” Mohammed said.

“The shares are open to all and everybody can take part, whether personally at sea or on land by providing cash, weapons or useful materials … we’ve made piracy a community activity.”

Link via io9 | Image: US Department of State

Pirates get a bad rap. They were cut-throat, drunken maniacs, sure, but what they did have was great benefits. Compared to other sailing outfits, pirates often had better food, better pay, better sleeping arrangements (all still horrible of course) than other soldier or merchant vessels. Pirates at least had a democratic decision-making system. Comparatively luxurious, the pirate ships often had plenty of people willing to join them. Not so for your standard military or merchant ships. Sailors regularly jumped ship, and after a few days stay in a port, a ship could be shorthanded by half a dozen men. This is where the “Pirates’ House” came in. Besides beer, food and wenches, the “Pirate House” did a brisk trade in something else; they found new sailors for the ships. Rather than going to all the trouble of convincing people of what a nice life it was at sea (people knew better) they simply kidnapped them.

Curious Expeditions explains how these kidnappings (known as being “shanghaied”) were accomplished, as well as other pirate activities, and you’ll get a look at more of the fascinating history of the city of Savannah. Link

1. Disneyland was expected to fail.

Opening day was such a disaster that pretty much every press organization that attended the celebration had predicted the park’s failure within one year.

It opened on a day that was 101 degrees and the street asphalt still wasn’t dry, leading to it sticking to shoes. By the end of the first day, all but 2 of the 48 Autopia cars were crashed and about half the rides were broken.

Despite all that, park visitors loved it and attendance continued to grow day by day.

Source (Photo: ThomasFredrick [Flickr])

2. Need a real drink?

While many Disney fanatics may already know this one, others may find it surprising to know there is exactly one place in the entire park that serves alcoholic beverages.

The place is called Club 33 and it is a very exclusive club to get in. To gain entry, there is a ten year waiting list and admission is at least a thousand dollars. Supposedly, the food is good though.

Source (Photo: emmyboop [Flickr])

3. Tomorrow Land is so outdated.

Or at least, the first version is by now. The only Tomorrow Land ride that still exists in its original state from the opening is Autopia, and even it was changed to fit with Cars the movie. Actually though, there is one major change in Autopia from how it was on opening day -there were originally no guide rail to keep people on track. Sometimes Disney was a little too trusting of the good of humans.

Source (Photo: Frikitiki [Flickr])

4. There’s a Disney Underground.

Photo: lwr [Flickr]

It’s not quite as exciting as it sounds though. Despite rumors, the area under the park isn’t a massive underground city. There are many underground basements though, where cast can relax, change in and out of costumes and eat lunch in peace. Think of it like a few really big break rooms.

Disney World on the other hand, was built late enough that they have a full city underground.

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5. Olympic sports anyone?

Photo: Frikitiki [Flickr]

Just walking around the park over and over again is exercise enough for most people, but employees have the option of working out in the Matterhorn. Surely you didn’t think that huge mountain was only used for one little ride did you? No, the Matterhorn is officially classified as a gym and has a full basketball court inside. In 1984, it was even certified as an official Olympic Stadium.

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6. It’s safe, but not 100% safe.

Photo: videocrab [Flickr]

Despite persisting urban legends that claim no one ever died in the park, people have. At least 12 people have died there, reports vary as to whether some additional death tales are true or not. All things considered though, 12 deaths in over 50 years isn’t that bad. Keep in mind, aside from dangerous rides, there is also a notable amount of gang violence at other Southern California amusement parks that doesn’t occur as frequently at Disneyland.

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7. Ever feel like you’re being watched?

You might be. There are cameras everywhere. Aside from average security brigades, they even have special tasks forces with only a handful of things to focus on.

There are at least two special forces at the park, one dedicated to catching people using drugs at the park, and another dedicated to catching people who flash or flip off the cameras during the photo parts of the rides. If you’ve ever gotten a message saying your photo isn’t available when you got off the ride, there’s a good chance someone either flashed some breast or flipped the bird to the camera.

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8. A ghostly Hazmat problem.

Photo: major_clanger [Flickr]

There are many reports of people trying to spill the ashes of loved ones in the Haunted Mansion. As nice of a thought as it is, there are plenty of ghosts in the Mansion already and if everyone dumped their ashes here, then the whole thing would be covered in dust. So, every time it happens, the Mansion needs to be closed and a hazmat team cleans it.

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9. A pirate’s life for Jack.

We all know that Johnny Depp is dang sexy, but just the character of Jack Sparrow? Apparently, a lot of women still think he’s just as good as Depp. In Pirate’s Booty, an ex-actor at Disneyland confessed how many women would try to hump him just for playing the character. The stories range from flirting to receiving napkins with naughty offers.



(Photo: Locket479 [Flickr])

10. Words from beyond.

Ever notice the telegraph clicking at the New Orleans’ train station? It’s ticking out the speech Disney gave out on the park’s opening day. Traces of Disney are all over the park, my favorite one though is his old apartment over the fire house on Main Street. They always leave the light on in his memory. Not only is it cute, but it’s also rad that he got to live in the park.

Source (Photo: Mysteryofmaps [Flickr])

A few other fun tidbits:

• Steve Martin used to work in the magic shop here.
• There used to be live girls dressed like mermaids in the 2000 Leagues Under the Sea pool.
• Did your balloon pop? Just show any balloon seller your popped balloon and they’ll give you a new one.
• The Imagineers put special touches everywhere. The Haunted Mansion features faces of a few of the early Imagineers and has tombstones written with inside joke references.
• Coke gives the park free soda to eliminate competition in the park and for the advertising.
• Hidden Mickeys are spread all over the park and there’s at least one in every ride.

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