Misconceptions about Pirates - mental_floss on YouTube (Ep. 47) | Mental Floss

Hi, I'm Elliot. This is Mental Floss Video. Today I'm going to talk about some misconceptions about pirates and destroy all of your dreams

Misconception number one, pirates started being a problem in the 17th and 18th centuries

This is a common misconception because there were thousands of problematic pirates between around 1650 and 1720 CE

But pirates have been around for a lot longer than that. In fact, there is evidence that pirates were a huge problem in the Aegean and Mediterranean

seas during the 14th century BCE. The ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians all had to be wary of pirates coming to their

ports and disrupting their trade. You know, how pirates do. Misconception number two, pirates said things like arrrr

Actually experts believe that 17th century pirates talked just like any other English sailor would

They probably did not have their own accents and slang words. It was the 1950 Disney movie Treasure Island that invented and popularized pirate speak

with arrrrrs and expressions like shiver me timbers. Misconception number three pirates buried treasure If you think about it why would they do this Still the idea that pirates buried their treasure persevered thanks to works of fiction Most pirates would not dare to do this One pirate who did was William Kidd who lived during the 17th century

Authorities found some of his treasure buried in Long Island, New York, which was then used as evidence to convict Kidd

People still look for more of Kidd's buried treasure to this day, but the majority of pirates held onto their riches

Because, like, why wouldn't you? Misconception number four, pirates were old-fashioned and barbaric

Actually, many pirate crews were pretty progressive for their time. For instance, some experts claim that pirates had some of the original homosexual marriages known as mate-latages

According to the book Sodomy and the Pirate Tradition, this was, quote, linking a buccaneer and another male, most often a youth, a relationship with clearly homosexual characteristics

Sometimes this would extend to sharing each other's property and being their partner's sole heir

Other common prejudices of the time were ignored, too, like many pirate crews included freed and runaway slaves

It's estimated that 60% of Blackbeard's crew was black. Women were rarely welcome to be pirates, though

Misconception number five, pirates were old men. Actually, the majority of pirates were probably in their 20s

And this is because many people turned to piracy after trying their luck as merchants or sailors which were jobs for young men It also probably helped that men in their 20s were less likely to have attachments at home so they were more willing to become pirates And this checks out One study estimates that only 4 of pirates between 1716 and 1726 were married

Misconception number six, pirate ships were huge. Well-known pirates like Blackbeard got their reputations

because they had these large, intimidating ships, so it really depended on the pirate

But many ships were fairly small, and there were advantages to that. Smaller ships were faster, and it was easier for them to approach shallow waters

to do all their pirating business. Misconception number seven, a lot of pirates had missing eyes and wore eye patches

Alright, so the evidence for pirates wearing eye patches is sketchy at best

but if they did, it probably wasn't because they were missing an eye. When you go from a bright area to a completely dark one, it might take your eyes almost half an hour to completely adjust

So pirates might have chosen to keep one of their eyes adjusted to the dark at all times

That way, when they went from the bright decks of the ship to the dark below deck areas

they'd be able to use the eye that was normally covered by a patch to see. I would call this a stupid idea, but I'm not a pirate

Misconception number eight, pirate ships were chaotic. Actually so many pirates were successful because they laid down the law and kept their ships in order Pirate codes were not uncommon Some banned the crew from gambling and smoking and some had limitations on drinking So it just it was no fun Guys it was no fun to be a pirate

Misconception number nine, pirates had people walk the plank. First of all, it wasn't the decision of one person, like the captain, for instance. Many crews were actually democratic

and would vote on the fate of a traitor. And having prisoners walk the plank was rare

but that doesn't mean they were nice guys necessarily. If they had a prisoner they needed information out of, torturing the person wasn't out of the question

Number 10, pirates no longer exist. Oh no, they do. Modern pirates have been known to hijack ships

and hold them for ransom. According to The Economist, an average ship provides a crew of

pirates with $2.7 million, meaning they might get $75,000 each. And piracy is an especially huge

problem because they travel around and commit crimes in many countries, meaning it often needs

to be dealt with on an international level. Thank you for watching Misconceptions on Mental Philosophy Video. If you guys have a topic for an upcoming Misconceptions episode that you would

like to see, leave it in the comments and we'll check it out and maybe we'll do it and it'll be a lot of fun