Daily Archives: September 19, 2024

History

On this day September 19

Today in History

  • 2010 Oil rig Deepwater Horizon is declared sealed after a 5-month long spill in the Gulf of Mexico

    Thought to be one of the biggest accidents in the oil and gas industry, the Deepwater Horizon spill or the BP oil spill began on April 20, 2010, when an explosion destroyed the rig and killed 11 people.

  • 2006 A Military coup overthrows the elected government in Thailand

    Forces loyal to General Sonthi Boonyaratglin overthrew the elected government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and dissolved the parliament and the constitution.

  • 1983 Saint Kitts and Nevis gain their Independence from the British Crown

    The first Europeans set foot on the Island country in the West Indies in the late 15th century during an expedition led by Columbus. In 1713, the control over the islands was passed from the French to the British.

  • 1973 Carl XVI Gustaf succeeds his grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf as the King of Sweden

    Sweden is a constitutional monarchy, where the monarch is the ceremonial head of state. In 1980, Swedish law was changed to allow the firstborn of a monarch to become the crown’s heir apparent, irrespective of their gender.

  • 1944 The Moscow Armistice ends the Continuation War

    The peace treaty was signed between the Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and Finland. It put an end to the conflict between the USSR and Finland between 1941 and 1944.

Uncategorized

Talk Like a Pirate Day

International Talk Like A Pirate Day is a parody holiday annually held on September 19. Celebrated for the first time in 1995, the fun holiday encourages people to talk and dress like the sea plunderers of yesteryears.

 

John Baur (“Ol’ Chumbucket”) and Mark Summers (“Cap’n Slappy”) created this holiday on June 6, 1995. Out of respect for World War II’s D-Day, Baur and Summers chose to move the date of the holiday to September 19.

International Talk Like A Pirate Day was a low-key event until 2002 when it received media attention via syndicated humor columnist Dave Barry. Today, it is celebrated around the world as a way to raise funds for charity organizations, such as Childhood Cancer Support and Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Criminals at Sea

Pirates are people who commit acts of robbery and violence at sea. Pirates have been around ever since the open seas have been used to transport goods and people from one part of the world to the other. Even Julius Caesar was captured by pirates twice.

Historically, pirates were considered contemptible human beings. In many societies, acts of piracy were punishable by torture and death. Even today, piracy is considered an egregious crime at par with other heinous crimes such as treason.

Parodied Version

In the 18th century, the image of pirates got a makeover – from being violent criminals to being somewhat caricatured. They were shown sporting eye patches, a bandana or a tricorne hat, and were always accompanied by a pet, usually a parrot or a monkey. They were also shown to speak a special version of the English language, which is grammatically incorrect, and often interspersed with growls.

FYI…

…that William Dampier, an English pirate, was responsible for introducing many words in the English language, still in use today? Some of these include: caress, chopsticks, posse, barbecue and snug. An amateur natural historian, he was also the first person in the world to circumnavigate the world thrice.