International Talk Like a Pirate Day
Next: September 19, 2027
Arr. That's it. That's the day.
The story
Where it comes from
Two friends in Oregon, John Baur and Mark Summers, invented Talk Like a Pirate Day in 1995 during a game of racquetball and kept it as a private joke for years. In 2002 they wrote to humour columnist Dave Barry, who devoted a column to it, and the day went global overnight. 19 September was chosen because it was Summers's ex-wife's birthday and therefore easy to remember.
How it's celebrated
Saying 'arr', 'ahoy' and 'shiver me timbers' in inappropriate settings. Some restaurants give free food to anyone who orders in pirate, offices hold costume days, and Facebook has offered an 'English (Pirate)' language setting.
Did you know
- The 'pirate accent' everyone imitates is mostly the West Country English of actor Robert Newton, who played Long John Silver in Disney's 1950 Treasure Island.
- Real pirates of the 1700s came from all over the world; there is no evidence they said 'arr' at all.
- Baur and Summers have written two books about the day and once appeared on the reality show Wife Swap in character.
Coming up next
- World Cleanup Day · September 20, 2027
- International Day of Peace · September 21, 2027
- World Alzheimer's Day · September 21, 2027
- World Rhino Day · September 22, 2027
- World Car-Free Day · September 22, 2027
- International Day of Sign Languages · September 23, 2027