Worried about pirates? Carry a flashlight.

gottawearshades · Apr 17, 2009

Good people,

Just read an account of how the crew of the M/V Maersk Alabama responded to the pirate attack in the Village voice. A crewman's advice: "Flashlights and radios are very handy." When the crew went below decks, the pirates were reluctant to to pursue them. From the article:

"Once the power was out, the interior of the ship was pitch black.
'The pirates were very reluctant to go into the dark,' the crewman says."

Zatoichi · Apr 17, 2009

They must have been incompetant pirates. I read somewhere here (albeit possibly an urban legend) that the eye patches they wore were to preserve dark adapted vision in one eye for venturing below deck.

Thanks for the heads up anyway, I'm always worrying about pirates.

bshanahan14rulz · Apr 17, 2009

Eyepatches were actually used as protection against hungry shoulder-parrots.

and When I read the title, I thought it would be a story about some sailor using the strobe function to disorient a pirate while another shoved him overboard. Now I find out pirates are scared of the dark? pfftahahaha!

LightCannon · Apr 17, 2009

bshanahan14rulz said:
Eyepatches were actually used as protection against hungry shoulder-parrots.

and When I read the title, I thought it would be a story about some sailor using the strobe function to disorient a pirate while another shoved him overboard. Now I find out pirates are scared of the dark? pfftahahaha!

Eyepatches were not invented as protection against hungry shoulder-parrots. Rather, they came about as an accidental development in the late 18th-century when the famous pirate Bartholomew "Turtleteeth" Smithson, in one of his frivolous romps with a lusty bar wench, found himself wearing her underwear over his head.

Thinking this gave him a rather intimidating and manly look, he took things further and refined the look into the forerunner of the eyepatch we know today. The urban legend about hungry shoulder-parrots was false information spread by his enemies in order to prevent other pirates in their crew from keeping pet birds, thus reducing the amount of bird poop on deck, in addition to cutting bird seed costs from the budget.

csshih · Apr 22, 2009

LightCannon said:
Eyepatches were not invented as protection against hungry shoulder-parrots. Rather, they came about as an accidental development in the late 18th-century when the famous pirate Bartholomew "Turtleteeth" Smithson, in one of his frivolous romps with a lusty bar wench, found himself wearing her underwear over his head.

Thinking this gave him a rather intimidating and manly look, he took things further and refined the look into the forerunner of the eyepatch we know today. The urban legend about hungry shoulder-parrots was false information spread by his enemies in order to prevent other pirates in their crew from keeping pet birds, thus reducing the amount of bird poop on deck, in addition to cutting bird seed costs from the budget.

rotflmao!

greenlight · Apr 22, 2009

Me-thinks night vision goggles would be better! Arrgh!

Worried about pirates? Carry a flashlight.

gottawearshades

Enlightened

Zatoichi

Flashlight Enthusiast

bshanahan14rulz

Flashlight Enthusiast

LightCannon

Enlightened

csshih

Flashlight Enthusiast

greenlight

Flashlight Enthusiast

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