International Talk Like A Pirate Day Brings Out The Scallywag In Us All

GAR! Ye must be a scurvy-ridden dog to not know it be International Talk Like A Pirate Day today! That’s right, mateys, this be the 11th annual celebration and it happens on September 19th every YAR!

While the lighthearted “holiday” that everyone can enjoy may have had humble beginnings, it has reached a level of notoriety its founders never could have foreseen. Case in point: Krispy Kreme is giving away free donuts.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, all you have to do is head into any location and spout your finest pirate phrase to receive your booty in all its glazed glory. If one’s not enough for you, anyone showing up in full pirate regalia, with at least three pirate items in their attire, gets a whole dozen (per the Krispy Kreme Web site, no weapons). Seems a bit of a stretch from a sweaty racquetball game in 1995, but therein lies the origin o’ this here holiday, ye dog.

According to the official history on the official Web site, friends John Baur and Mark Summers were playing racquetball on June 6 and one sustained an injury, exclaiming “Arr!” and it was on that fateful day that Talk Like A Pirate Day came to be. Respecting the memory of D-Day on June 6, they settled on September 19, the birthday of Mark’s ex-wife, to celebrate their new, personal holiday.

It was first celebrated just among friends until they hatched the hare-brained scheme to bring syndicated columnist Dave Barry in on the gag. Sure it was crazy, right? A Pulitzer prize-winning writer running with this inside joke? That didn’t stop them from emailing him. Intrigued, Barry replied. Then, on September 8, 2002, the headline read: “Arrrrr! Talk like a pirate — or prepare to be boarded.”

And here we are today. They said “ARR!” and the world noticed, and now we celebrate it every YAR! Not yet ready to check join the festivities? Start small, like changing your Facebook language preferences to “Pirate.” Or check out the Pirate Translator on the official Web site. Or, as the translator tells us:

And here we be today. They said “ARR!” and t’ world noticed, and now we celebrate it every YAR! Not yet ready t’ check join t’ festivities? Start small, like changin’ your Facebook language preferences t’ “Pirate.” Or check out t’ Pirate Translator on t’ official Web site.

So whether you’re in it for a donut or want to view your online friends through an eye patch, get on out there and give ’em YAR best!