Ahoy Whyville! Don't mind me, just trying to get into the pirate spirit. I'm positive, and hoping, all of you are aware of The Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest , opening on July 7th. Being a huge fan of the first one, I am extremely excited for this.

It got me thinking, do we have pirates today? Did pirates years ago differ in a major way than what we see on the silver screen? I was sure to find differences, but amazed at how many real Pirate factoids were put into the movie! Let's get going, savvy?

First, I thought we could start with the history of a familiar sign, one in which you may not think had a name. But it does. The skull and crossbones symbol you would see on a pirate flag, or even the logo for the Pirates movie, is called the Jolly Roger. The Jolly Roger was printed onto mainly black flags, which may have sent chills down the crew and Captain's spines on sight. Pirates all had a different designed Jolly Roger. It could've been from the original skull and crossbones to a skull with a sword beside it. The flags and Jolly Roger's would often show symbols of destruction, and sometimes death.

When you were younger, did you always picture pirates with parrots, hooks, or peglegs? Maybe, thanks to Peter Pan, or the classic Treasure Island. It is highly unlikely that pirates stationed parrots on their shoulders at all times, or any time for that matter. A parrot, or any pet, would simply get in the way of work. If a pirate were to have an animal on board the ship, it probably wouldn't live long at all. During hard times at sea, the pet could have been used for supplies that the crew lacked, anything from food to clothing.

Believe it or not, it is believeable that if a pirate were to lose an arm on board, they would substitute it with something handy. Since hooks were on almost every pirate ship, it is probable that the hook hand was real. However, the peglegs were not real. If a pirate were to injure a leg, amputation (the removing of a limb) may be the only option to save him from infection, which could lead to death. If the "surgeon", who was usually the cook, were to use a pegleg on his patient, that would kill him from infection also.

As I mentioned before, I was wondering if we still had pirates or acts of piracy today. Apparently, yes, there are pirates today! They still prey on sea trade for large companies. But no, they don't still use canons and swords. They use modern devices in their looting. But no worries! Unless any of you sail across the seven seas with expensive loot for fun, you have nothing to worry about.

PIRATE LINGO - The Basics

Ahoy! - Hello!
Avast! - Stop and give attention
Aye!- Agreed.
Aye Aye (yes, there is a difference)- I'll get right on that, sir!
Land lubber- An insult, to people who would prefer land than the sea.
Shiver Me Timbers!- An expression of shock or disbelief.
Davy Jones' Locker- The imaginary place at the bottem of the ocean, believed to be the place that held dead sailors and pirates.
Booty - loot.
Lad, Las, or Lassie - A way to address someone younger than you.
Matey- a way to address someone in a friendly fashion.

Well, this is blondyy16 signing out to watch Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. Bye :)