Saturday, September 19, 2009

Will You Walk The Plank For Talk Like A Pirate Day?

Last year, the grim economy forced many companies to scale back or cancel staff Christmas and holiday parties.

This Saturday, Sept. 19, is another big test for the mood of America's psyche: International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

(Yes, seriously. Click here for details.)

According to the official website, the holiday was the brainchild of John Baur and Mark Summers, two friends from Albany, Ore., right, a.k.a. Cap'n Slappy and Ol' Chumbucket, who were playing racquetball when, for reasons that aren't clear to either of them now, they started insulting each other in pirate jargon.

They decided to start Talk Like a Pirate Day, and picked September 19th because it is Summers' ex-wife's birthday.

"The date was stuck in his head and he wasn't doing anything with it anymore, so it would be easy to remember," Summers says.

The whole thing then got mentioned in a column by humorist Dave Barry and, well, in the Internet era it doesn't take much more than that.

USA Today

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