Robert Downey Jr. is well-known for his philanthropic efforts and involvement in charitable causes, mainly through his work with Limbitless Solutions, which creates bionic arms for children. In 2015, the real-life Iron Man and the charity 3D printed a Stark Industries robotic prosthetic arm for seven-year-old Alex, who is missing his right arm.

The genius billionaire playboy philanthropist wrote, “Had the absolute privilege of presenting a brand spanking new 3D-printed bionic Iron Man arm to Alex, the most dapper 7-year-old I’ve ever met!” We love you 3000, RDJ.

Narbeh Kardash is the Kardashian’s biggest fan. So, when he asked his favorite Kardashian sister to be his date for his high school prom, Khloé just couldn’t say no. We can’t report if they held hands or kissed, but Khloé tweeted, “My very first prom and I went with THE BEST date ever @NarbehKardash !!!!! We had so much fun!!! How handsome is my date???”

Narbeh wrote on Instagram, “Wow. Sharing my prom with @khloekardashian was an over-the-moon experience for me.”

After witnessing a hit-and-run accident, Tom Cruise was first on the scene and swiftly called the paramedics. That’s not all the Top Gun and Mission Impossible star did. He stayed with the injured lady and followed her to the emergency room.

But the Good Samaratian’s actions didn’t end there… When he learned the woman had no insurance, he paid her $7,000 hospital bill. Now, that’s what we call a hero!

One day, a young man was checking out the new Lebron sneakers in a Cleveland, Ohio, shoe store when a giant shadow loomed over him. The kid turned around to see the shadow belonged to Lebron James, who smiled and said, “You want my new shoes?”

LeBron bought the kid two pairs, one of which he autographed. The kid described the experience as “One of the best days of my life.” Among King James’ hundreds of charitable endeavors, he also bought the Ohio State University football team their cleats.

Loved by millions of people for his compassionate nature, Keanu Reeves generously donated a whopping 70% of his earnings from the first installment of The Matrix film to support leukemia research. Keanu was originally set to earn $10 million upfront, but sensing the movie would be a game-changer, he took a percentage of the film’s box office.

Keanu’s instincts were correct — The Matrix grossed $466.6 million worldwide. According to LAD Bible, Reeves donated $31.5 million to the insanely good cause.

Miley Cyrus superfan Matt Peterson asked his hero to be his prom date. Sadly, due to her demanding schedule, Miley couldn’t make it, but — determined not to disappoint her devoted supporter — she brought prom night to Matt’s world. The “Wrecking Ball” singer invited Matt to one of her concerts, where she had a special surprise awaiting him backstage.

Miley had a prom-themed photoshoot ready to go, capturing the spirit of the magical event. Miley ensured Matt would remember this prom experience for the rest of his days.

In December 2022, Brazil lost their World Cup quarter-final match to Croatia on penalties. As defender Dani Alves hugged and consoled his compatriot Neymar Jr., Croatian winger Ivan Perišić’s young son, Leonardo, ran onto the pitch towards the tearful Brazilian duo. But Leonardo soon found his way blocked by an official.

Even though Neymar was heartbroken, he swiftly intervened by halting the official and approaching the boy. The devastated Brazilian star engaged in a heartfelt conversation and hugged the young boy.

Dwayne Johnson recently gave a fan his own custom-made truck! The Rock had gathered information about everyone in the Red Notice premiere audience and was most moved by Oscar’s story. The proud and humble Navy veteran, personal trainer, and community leader looks after his 75-year-old mom and supports vulnerable women.

As Oscar drove away, he said his actions were down to “Love. That’s all it is, brother. Just love.” Then he started whistling The Beatles’ “All You Need is Love”.

Did you know that in 2017, Nicki Minaj offered to pay off her fans’ college tuition fees and student loans? There was just one catch; the lucky recipients would need straight As in their exams. Nicki tweeted, “Show me straight A’s that I can verify w/ur school, and I’ll pay it. Who wants to join THAT contest?!?! Dead serious. Should I set it up?”

The Trinidadian rapper chose 37 winners of her Student of the Game contest, bought them laptops and schoolbooks, and paid off their tuition fees.

‘A long time ago, at a convention center far, far away…’ director JJ Abrams and President of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy did a Star Wars: The Force Awakens Q & A session. But when they found out that some die-hard fans had already been camping out for 29 hours to keep their places in line, JJ and Kathleen went the extra parsec.

The filmmaking duo bought pizzas for the 1,500 loyal fans waiting in line. Apparently, they ordered them from Pizza the Hutt!

The Beckhams are celebrity royalty. Victoria is an ex-Spice Girl and current fashion designer, while hunky ex-England captain David owns Inter Miami MLS club. But one day, there was a commotion outside the Beckham’s London townhouse. Practically on the steps to their home, paramedics were attending to an elderly woman who had fallen over.

So, the handsome couple leaped into action in the most English way imaginable. Victoria popped the kettle on! Then, David brought the old lady and the paramedics cups of tea!

When two Australian miners got trapped in a mine, they were asked what they needed. Now, any normal person trapped in a mine might ask for something sensible like a flashlight or medical supplies. But these are Aussie miners, so naturally, they asked for an iPod filled with Foo Fighters albums (and a Vegemite sandwich, probably).

Dave Grohl heard about their request and had the iPod sent out to them, along with a note saying, “…I want you to know that when you come home, there are two tickets to any Foos show, anywhere.”

In 2014, Angelina Jolie appeared on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart when she came to the aid of a fan having a panic attack. The girl, named Techna, explained she was getting squished and that Jolie noticed her struggling with a panic attack. So, Angelina made sure security pulled her from the crush.

Angelina then sat down with Techna, calmed her down, and wouldn’t leave until she was okay. Then, when she was calm, they shared a selfie. Techna wrote on social media, “Thank You #AngelinaJolie, I will remember this.”

When Harry Styles’ car broke down, the dreamy English singer was given a helping hand by his number-one fan’s father, who invited Harry into his home for a cup of tea. So English! Sadly, superfan Theodora wasn’t home to meet Harry, but he left her a note.

In it, the megastar wrote, “Theodora, I’m devastated that we missed each other. Looking forward to meeting you soon. Treat people with kindness. All my love, Harry. P.S. I fed the fish. Tell your dad to get in touch, and I’ll see you at a show.”

Do you know who started the trend of female stars appearing on soldiers’ arms? It was lovely, Mila Kunis. The Black Swan actress accompanied lucky Sergeant Scott Moore as his date to the annual Marine Corps Ball. And she started a trend as Kim Kardashian, Justin Timberlake, Ronda Rousey, and Kristin Cavallari have all followed in Mila’s footsteps.

Scott’s date with Mila lasted four hours, and yes, he did get a dance. The Sergeant later said, “It was a blast; it was a great time. So yes, it exceeded my expectations.” Spill the beans, Scott!

When Jane the Virgin fan Jessica Casanova saw Gina Rodriguez’s Golden Globes dress, she just had to have it! So Jessica tweeted how she wished to wear her icon’s dress to her prom. And guess what? In a random act of celeb kindness, Gina got back to her, they exchanged contact deets, and Gina mailed the dress to Jessica!

But, beyond joyously wearing it to her prom, Jessica hasn’t kept the dress — Gina’s act made her feel so good that she plans to lend the dress to other lucky prom-going debutantes.

Ahmed Ture’s admiration for Zac Efron knows no bounds, and his enthusiasm peaked when he met his hero. However, in all the excitement, Ahmed’s phone slipped from his grasp and shattered on the ground. Witnessing the entire incident, Zac stepped in with incredible generosity.

Zac replaced Ahmed’s broken phone and invited him to the Baywatch set, where he was filming, to hang out with Zac and his co-stars. Eager to share their encounter with the world, Zac posted a photo of the joyous moments he spent with Ahmed.

In the midst of one of his concerts, country music singer Blake Shelton’s keen eye caught sight of a sign held high in the crowd. The poster, proudly displayed by a young boy named Wyatt McKee, bore a heartfelt message: “Your smallest biggest fan from Lake Texoma, 6 years old. Waiting on a heart transplant.”

Overwhelmed by his Southern compassion, Blake beckoned Wyatt up on stage, where the two performed a memorable duet of “God’s Country.” The performance made Wyatt’s year, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

When Emma Watson was walking down New York’s East 78th Street, she noticed a shy five-year-old boy dressed up for Halloween. She went up to him and asked if he was Harry Potter. When the boy said yes, Emma replied, “That’s great because I’m Hermione Granger, and we’re best of friends,” before giving him a giant hug.

Unfortunately, the baffled bespectacled kid was too young to realize that it really was Hermione from his favorite film franchise. So, thinking Emma was a Muggle, he probably turned her into a toad.

Motormouth comedian, actor, and podcaster Russell Brand often hangs out with houseless people in Los Angeles. Like a modern-day Mother Theresa with a beard and skinny jeans, Brand used to take these less-fortunate souls to breakfast and give them clothes. He would even give them rides to the same meetings he attended for his dependencies.

When Howard Stern interviewed Russell, the Englishman said one of his favorite ways to help the world is by taking homeless people to dinner and just keeping them company for a night.

When Stranger Things fan Ericka Millholland from Springfield, Illinois, reached out to David Harbour with an extraordinary request to officiate their wedding, the actor said he would… in exchange for the first bite of the wedding cake. Obviously, using Method Acting, Harbour got himself ordained and, to everyone’s delight, made a grand entrance as Chief Hopper.

Harbour united Ericka and her now-husband, Daniel Rockwood, in matrimony. Although, Daniel must have been bemused as he hasn’t seen Stranger Things! Eleven out of Eleven for effort, David!

During 2020, 11-year-old Emerson Weber from South Dakota took it upon herself to write handwritten letters to postal workers to thank them for all their hard work in helping keep people connected. Now, Emerson is a massive fan of Taylor Swift, so she’d often include her favorite singer’s quotes in her letters.

When Taylor found out about the young girl’s initiative, she wrote a letter to Emerson thanking her for her hard work and compassion. Emerson has since written a book about her letter-writing adventure called Sincerely, Emerson.

13-year-old Sydney Bourbeau was performing Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” at West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada, as a part of her music school’s fundraiser. And you’ll never guess who happened to show up in the crowd. Yes, it was the ginger musical maestro himself, Ed Sheeran.

Ed joined Sydney to make it a duet and sent her tickets to his next concert. Hilariously, Sydney thought Ed was someone walking over to help fix her microphone. And that, there, is star quality!

At the Toronto Film Festival, Colin Farrell recognized a homeless man named Stress he’d met three years earlier. So, the Irish actor bought him $2,100 worth of clothes and a sleeping bag. Next, he went to an ATM, withdrew a chunk of cash, and gave the man money to rent a room.

Colin and Stress have kept in touch ever since their fateful meeting, and Stress credits his famous buddy with helping to turn his life around.

After eight-year-old Grace Moores underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor, she missed her hero, Katy Perry, in concert. So, instead, Katy took the concert to Grace’s home in Adelaide, Australia. The singer showed up at her young fan’s house to meet the brave young girl, chat with her family, and sing songs together.

Perry said, “Today is one of those days where I actually feel like a unicorn. That’s because I get to use my powers for good.” We think they’re both champions, and we’re gonna hear them roar!

His most-famous character Mabel “Madea” Simmons, might be one tough cookie, but when billionaire actor and entrepreneur Tyler Perry heard thieves had stolen Alicia Day’s van, he leaped into action to help her. You see, the $60,000 van was specially equipped to help Alicia with her cerebral palsy.

Tyler called the local radio station that had reported the tragedy and asked how he could get in touch with Alicia. Then, he called Alicia at home, told her who he was, and bought her a brand-new vehicle.

Devoted 25-year-old country music enthusiast Marissa English adored Keith Urban’s music and was so excited to attend his concert in her hometown. However, a cruel twist of fate intervened when Marissa’s pre-existing medical conditions took a turn for the worse, confining her to a hospital bed. But that didn’t stop Keith from helping Marissa!

Not only did Mr. Nicole Kidman dedicate that evening’s concert to Marissa, but he also visited his number-one fan at the hospital.

Recently, 7’1” ex-NBA star Shaquille O’Neill explained, “The other day, me and my mom went furniture shopping, and this lady, she had an autistic daughter. She was also looking to pay for some furniture. I just took care of her. I’m into making people happy. Whenever I leave the house, I just try to do a good deed.”

Another time, in a jewelry store, he overheard a guy asking how much of the balance was left to pay on his girlfriend’s ring. So, Shaq paid off the balance. Giant man, giant heart!

When Zumyah Thorpe was recovering from a car crash, her doctors said that Bruno Mars’ music helped her regain consciousness from a coma. So when Bruno found out that Zumyah was in the crowd at one of his shows, he decided to make her feel extra special. The pop whizkid dedicated “(You’re Amazing) Just The Way You Are”.

Not satisfied with serenading his brave young fan in front of thousands, Bruno also gave her several gifts from the show. Zumyah must have been over the moon… sorry — Mars.

England’s finest girl group, Little Mix, aka Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards, and Jesy Nelson, popped into McDonald’s to surprise superfan Elise on her 12th birthday. The girls sang her “Happy Birthday” and joined her party for a while, hanging out, chatting, and posing for photos.

Perrie explained the fast food chain’s #HelloGoodTimes campaign by saying, “I just think the whole campaign’s so cute; it’s about making people happy and making people feel good. It was adorable, especially when we did the performance.” No, you’re adorable.

When rock legend Jon Bon Jovi found out about Australian fan Branka Delic’s online petition asking him to walk her down the aisle, the old romantic couldn’t say no. Especially because Branka’s wedding ceremony was at the same Las Vegas chapel where he tied the knot in 1989.

Blushing bride Branka reported, “I have memories for life which I’ll never forget. Such an amazing man to take time from his schedule to come walk this crazy Aussie down the aisle … You’re everything I ever imagined, an amazing and generous being.”

Johnny Depp often visits children’s wards as Captain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise to scare the bejeesus out of sick children who just want some peace and quiet. Only kidding; they love him, really.

Johnny spoke about his sometimes marathon five-hour hospital visits saying, “Kids in hospital are so courageous, but to be able to bring a smile or a giggle to the parents means everything in the world to me.” Next, Depp asked, “Why are pirates called pirates?” Before replying, “Because they AARRRHHH!”

In the 1990s, the late great Tupac Shakur received a letter from the parents of a terminally-ill boy named Joshua, saying it was their son’s last wish to meet him. So, 2Pac flew all the way to Maryland to meet the boy.

When Joshua passed away, Tupac changed the name of his record publishing company to Joshua’s Dream. Tupac learned his strong moral compass and charity from his mother, Afeni Shakur, who was an outspoken activist.

Hardly any celebrity has done more for the Make-A-Wish foundation than Selena Gomez. The singer has even won an award for her charity work with the foundation, and several Make-A-Wish kids have said their day with Selena was the best day of their lives.

The parents of one of the children Selena visited stated, “When the folks from Make-A-Wish told us that she would be able to have a wish, it just felt like the whole world was righting some sort of wrong.”

If you thought DC’s Peacemaker was a superhero, wait until you hear about John Cena! The ex-wrestler and actor often works with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which has granted over half a million wishes for children with terminal illnesses.

But John went above and beyond his usual level when he flew to Amsterdam to meet a superfan — Misha Rohozhyn, who has Down syndrome and is nonverbal. Cena paid a surprise visit, prompting an emotional and tearful response from Misha.

In 2013, actor Bryan Cranston heard that 19-year-old Breaking Bad fan Brad Joyner from North Carolina had been diagnosed with brain cancer; he knew he had to reach out. Remember, the whole reason mild-mannered high school chemistry teacher Walter White turned into criminal mastermind Heisenberg is because he finds out he has a tumor.

So Bryan chatted with Brad for half an hour via Skype and sent an ice cream truck to Brad’s home. Brad’s house was recognizable as it was the one with the pizza on the roof!

Dave Chappelle’s comedy shows are funny, but he always starts late and overruns. One night, he overran so much that he was still on stage at four o’clock in the morning. So, to thank his fans that stayed, Chappelle rented a basketball court for them all to meet up the next afternoon.

One attendee tweeted, “We played pick-up hoops with Dave Chappelle for over an hour. He bought us all fruit smoothies and gave us free tickets to his show the next night. He is a SUPER nice guy, just like he is on TV. Couldn’t have been any cooler.”

When Amy Adams was boarding her flight from Detroit to Los Angeles, she noticed a fully-dressed soldier awaiting his economy flight home. Before you ask, no, she wasn’t in Arrivals; she was in Departures! Anyway, Amy asked a flight attendant if she could swap seats with the soldier, gave him her first-class seat, and flew cattle class.

TV host Jemele Hill, who was also on the plane, tweeted: “Just saw actress Amy Adams do something incredibly classy. She gave her 1st class seat to an American soldier.”

Even though Paul Walker sadly left us in 2013, his kindness and generosity live on. One day, the Fast & Furious star was in a jewelry store where a couple was browsing for engagement rings. He overheard the couple find the perfect ring but then left empty-handed as it exceeded their $9,000 budget.

Unbeknownst to them, Paul Walker discreetly bought the ring, requesting the store clerk to maintain his anonymity. A decade later, the couple discovered that the late actor had made their dream ring a reality.

Alias and Peppermint star Jennifer Garner took to Instagram to share her practical and impactful method to help those in need. In a heartfelt video, she demonstrates a straightforward yet effective approach that anyone can afford. She fills Ziploc bags with small essential items like socks, tissues, toothbrushes, granola bars, and a few dollar bills.

Jennifer then goes to the street and hands the bags out to houseless people, who find her small gifts invaluable. It’s hardly Miracles from Heaven but every little bit counts, right?

Bruce Wayne might be a billionaire philanthropist, but did you know that The Dark Knight trilogy actor Christian Bale once flew a four-year-old leukemia patient named Jayden Barber and his family from Ohio to Disneyland, California? The Barber family even enjoyed lunch at Club 33 with Christian, his wife, and his daughter.

Jayden’s mom said her son was treated like royalty and that “the entire interaction was like old friends having lunch. Jayden did not get star-struck but was well aware of who we were with!”

Back in 1994, when Zach Galifianakis was a budding actor, writer, and comedian no one had heard of, he met an elderly woman named Elizabeth “Mimi” Haist. Years later, after Zach hit the big time, he heard that Mimi was now 87 and homeless. So, he swung into action, found her an apartment, and paid her rent.

Zach also introduced Mimi to Bridget Jones actress Renee Zellweger, who furnished the apartment, hopefully, with two ferns. Zach often took Mimi to his movie premieres as his date. Awww, bless.

When Brett Kyle lost control of his Toyota Tacoma in Ventura County, California, the pickup truck left the road, rolled over multiple times, and ended up in a drainage ditch outside Jamie Foxx’s house. Then, it caught fire with Kyle trapped inside.

Jamie was the first responder, and — with help from an off-duty EMT — he cut Kyle’s seat belt and dragged him to safety. Heroic Jamie told KCAL, “I don’t look at it as heroic. I just look at it as … you just had to do something. It all worked out.”

Looks like Daniel Radcliffe really is rad — even without his trusty magic wand, he comes to the rescue of people. In 2017, while walking in the fancy Chelsea neighborhood, Daniel was a witness to a mugging.

Although he couldn’t get back what was stolen, he did immediately offer his assistance to the mugging victim, calming him down. A witness at the scene shared that “it was a bit of the surreal moment.” We can imagine! 10 point to Gryffindor!

Svend Petersen spent over 40 years working at the Beverly Hills Hotel as the pool manager, getting to know the many stars who had enjoyed the pool. He was even dubbed the “Poolside Prince.” Sadly, in 2017, he became homeless.

Luckily, his friends opened up a GoFundMe page to help him out. Many people donated to help him get a new apartment. But most noticeable was the $5,000 donation from Sandra Bullock, who wrote on her donation, “Everything is going to be okay.”

Pirates, although portrayed as lawless and uncontrollable due to the numerous stories of plundering different regions, lived by certain standards. Despite their reputation of looting treasures and food items, there are lots of strange pirate traditions that will amaze you.

Exploring the world of pirates and their diet brings about beef. Beef is another common meal for the pirates who took a keen interest in preserving it in the way they know best.

The beef was smoked and salted to retain the taste and avoid decay. Although it’s believed that the beef sometimes gets extremely hard and becomes too difficult to eat that some use it as belt buckles.

Stories and popular culture tales portray pirates as sea looters who fancied burying their loots and treasures. History shows William Kidd did bury treasures, but that’s not enough to assume all pirates followed suit.

The loots included both edibles and precious metals. So not all loots were buried, some carted their loots to different places. For the famous William Kidd, his buried loots in Long Island led to his conviction after it was dug up and used against him.

Pirates live most of their lives on the sea. As such, hunger is a common problem since it is almost impossible to store vegetables, fruits, and other perishable food items. The solution is to create a meal from scraps of meat and any other food items available.

One such food mixture is Salmagundi, made of chopped and roasted meat, chicken, beef, and pigeon. Salmagundi is sometimes garnished with onions, olives, mangoes, boiled eggs, cabbage, and other available vegetables. Sometimes, the merchant seamen thought it wise to add extra seasonings to make sure the dish is tasty when it is cold.

Women sea raiders were not uncommon. Generally, lady pirates often disguised their gender to sail with buccaneers. This is because crew members believed it was bad luck to have women on pirate ships.

For instance, Mary Read disguised her identity as Mark Read while being a crew member of the famous Calico Jack. Other ladies like Anne Bonny and Maria Lindsey became pirates through their romantic affiliation with their captains. While the famous Anne Bonny was involved with Calico Jack, Maria Lindsey was Eric Cobham’s lover.

Yes, it’s the sea turtle. It may be a fascinating animal to see at the zoo but that’s not how the pirates viewed it. It was a source of fresh meat for them.

The pirates came across turtles in their voyages and never hesitated to hunt down this sea creature for food. Logically, the pirates would jump at the chance to eat fresh meat after constantly feeding on possibly over-salted or rock-hard beef for weeks. And being since they traveled wide and for long, turtles were frequently hunted.

As early as the 1600s, pirates have been practicing matelotage, a French word closely linked to the popular “Ahoy mate” greeting. Gay marriage among pirates isn’t surprising since the ships were filled with men who traveled for months together.

Evidently, some may have developed intimate relationships with each other and became couples. The demise of a mate automatically makes the other entitled to the benefits. When both are alive, the plunders are shared between them, and some even share female lovers.

The famous pirate symbol of terror, known as the Jolly Roger, is a flag with a skull and crossbones. According to historians, merchant seamen often raise the jolly roger to inform their enemy of their arrival and possible attack.

However, there are different variations of the famous flag. An example is Calico Jack’s jolly roger version with two crossed swords below a skull. Emmanuel Wynn, a French pirate, often raised a jolly roger flag showing two crossed bones with a skull at the center and an hourglass under it.

Blackbeard was famous as the captain of Queen Anne’s Revenge and was probably the most terrifying pirate of all time. His long beards and hemp trick later discovered, instilled fear in enemies.

Edward Teach would weave hemp into his long beard and beneath the captain cap. On spotting enemies, he’d lit the beard, and blow smoke from his face to scare the enemies. He’d likewise harm himself with swords, knives, and pistols, all hidden beneath his crimson coat. His trick and style lingered as other captains mirrored it.

Far from the basic comfort of life experienced in modern times, pirates ships are usually dirty, uncomfortable, and disgusting for the most part. The ships had no toilet, refrigerator to store food, or ice to preserve meals.

Also, it’s crowded, filled with a large number of people with no appropriate waste disposal system. All these made the ships disgusting and uncomfortable. Foods got bad really fast making the environment messy and smelly. While all the area may not reek disgustingly, most places do.

Up till now, bread remains a staple meal in many regions. For the pirates, bread was a regular but not the type enjoyed in modern times. As opposed to the fluffy, creamy, and well-cut bread common now, pirates ate “hard tack.”

Research reveals the bread they had was a cracker type usually infested with weevil and far from being fancy and even quite unhealthy after a long time of storage. There goes another pirate tradition unknown to many people.

The pirates were plunderers who knew little about the value of their loots. They preferred to keep items of gold and silver rather than sell them to amass wealth.

A popular pirate tale describes how a pirate who ignorantly demanded a diamond gets shared equally because he felt his piece was too heavy. This scenario coupled with how pirates handled the precious metals made many conclude the little knowledge of pirates regarding the treasures they stole.

Just because their meals didn’t last long, pirates didn’t shove it all down their throats. Instead, preservation was practiced. They employed lots of herbs to keep food in good condition over a long period.

The seasoning is usually quite heavy and excessive all in a bid to retain the taste of the food to a certain degree which is palatable and tasty. This pirate tradition is more of a necessity than a cherished practice compared to other things they valued.

Rumors have it that pirates had booty of gold and silver kept underground with a map to note the location of the treasures. Well, that’s not particularly what actually happened, rather, the pirates spent more than they stored.

Pirates enjoyed hangouts, partying with lots of alcohol and women at their disposal. The next time the tale of pirate treasure maps is told, chances are it’s completely false.

Although with a life lived mostly on the water, pirates took up notable positions on land. Historians found records of famous pirates who held positions in communities. An example is Captain William Kidd. He jointly founded a church and commissioned a pew in the name of his family despite spending most of his life on the sea.

His example, out of many, is a clear indication of pirate participation in community and family endeavors on land. So, though they are dominantly aggressive, the traditional human interaction remained in them.

Being a pirate is similar to secular jobs. It’s more of a career than a random job. The system in the ship is democratic, all pirates agreed to choose a head as others get assigned to tasks.

The performance of each individual in the ship amounts to the incentive received. But of course, it’s more of a physical job with life-threatening circumstances. Performance at each raid meant each pirate is entitled to loots and bonuses. In the event of the injury of an individual, an arrangement is in place to give them a fair share of the booty.

In the early 1600s, British sailors invented grog – a drink resulting front the mixture is water and alcohol. Its purpose is to avoid drinking the algae-infected water of the open sea. In later years the pirates improved on grog by adding lemon.

The mixture, which contained alcohol, lemon juice, and water was tasty and prevented common water-related diseases. This tradition soon spread to all pirates making the mixture more than just a hydrating liquid to a healthy type.

Pirates had pets, especially the captains. In pirate mythology, captains had birds that stood firm on their shoulders in an awe-inspiring way. As pleasing to the eye as this may be, the parrots served a more useful purpose.

It’s usually lonely on long voyages, to keep company, pets like parrots and lightweight animals were the preferred options. Such animals don’t add to the weight of those on board, and since the pirates have little meal to spare, small pets are naturally the best option.

As seen in top Hollywood movies, buccaneers were treasure lovers and merrymakers. Apart from stealing gold and silver, pirates often took possession of food, weapons, clothes, alcohol, and other basic survival needs. The general belief is that pirates bury most treasures. However, this is not always true.

The raiders usually shared their loot while the perishables were consumed immediately. Stolen goods and treasures were divided among the crew according to the rules laid out in the pirate code. The pirate code of conduct was a set of rules agreed upon by sailors.

As expected, every pirate needed an outfit, and good enough, the typical bandana, big Buckle belt, shirt with strings instead of buttons was the uniform-like outfit that many wore.

However, the book, Pirate: The Golden Age sheds light on the outfit of the pirates claiming it may vary from one region to another since there aren’t many people who saw them and lived. The closest thing to the outfit of the pirates was what sailors wore in the 1700s.

Marooning is a common type of torture employed by 17th and 18th-century pirates. Popular ‘marooners’ like Captain John Phillips used this method of slow and fatal death to get rid of captured sailors.

The captured sailors are abandoned on a deserted island with little or no means of survival. Some of these prisoners may have been given a loaded gun if they contemplate termination. However, most pirates refused to use the weapon because of the general belief that killing oneself while being marooned is cowardly. Some raiders are often lucky to be rescued by travelers.

The ruthlessness of pirates was useful in a way to the government. Plundering as outlaws may have been attributed to pirates, looting without restrictions and boundaries. This presented the government then the opportunity to use them for their dirty jobs.

Captain Henry Morgan, a feared and utterly ruthless pirate had the opportunity of taking up such a role. He was good at being vicious and got paid for it. He attacked countless Spanish posts in the Americas, an act that made him a feared character government runs to for secret jobs.

It is easy to think pirates feasted on seafood since they were always on the sea. The reverse was the case because pirates were not leisure travelers with knowledge on how to fish.

The process of netting or hand gathering in fishing would surely take much of the time required for planning another attack. Pirates were sea robbers who attacked ships and steal from coastal areas. Most of what they ate was either stolen during a raid or purchased from traders around seashores.

The ear hoops of the pirates were highly revered. Pirates had a strong belief that the earrings were supernatural and able to prevent a lot of predicaments. Pirates believed that asides from the value of the earrings, they helped prevent blindness.

Some even believed those precious rings blocked off seasickness of all sorts. The frequently disproved claim is that the golden earrings could prevent a pirate from drowning. Though strongly believing all these, none was proved true, just myths and empty claims. Another strange pirate tradition.

The pirates can’t be blamed for this practice. When boarding a ship, pirates brought Chickens and goats sometimes. The aim is to use the chickens for eggs and livestock for dairy.

Over time, after getting the maximum from these edible animals, the pirates fed on them. Not only did they feed on the animals, but also ate all the parts without hesitation (even the bones). They used their resources to the full to have adequate meals to feed on through their voyages on the open sea.

Apart from taking more liquor than water, Pirates were creative with their alcohol. In 1740, Vice Admiral Edward Vernon came up with a mixture of stagnant or slimy water and rum to help resolve the low freshwater supply. According to some historians, the British sailor also included citrus juice into the grog to preserve and make it drinkable.

Other mixtures created by pirates were “bombo” and “rumbustian.” The former was made of water, sugar, nutmeg, and rum, while the latter was a combination of sugar, raw eggs, gin, and beer.

The idea of plank-walking as a form of torture or death is more of a fictional tale in Daniel Defoe’s book A General History of the Pyrates. According to the book, ancient buccaneers got rid of their prisoners by blindfolding and making them walk over a narrow plank swaying on the sea.

However, in actual practice, swashbucklers were more brutal in dealing with prisoners. Most death sentences were often carried out swiftly and horribly, while torture may have involved flogging, marooning, or keelhauling.

The first few weeks on the sea were usually merry for buccaneers because there was enough food and rum either pillaged or bought. Unfortunately, as the journey continued through weeks and months, crew members would start to die of starvation.

To avoid starvation, sailors often resorted to eating scrapped hair or leather satchel. Some historians believe that pirates may have practiced cannibalism in the quest for survival.

To curb the eating of decaying of bread, the pirates devised a plan of porridge soup. The idea of this is to cook the cracker-like bread, making it healthier and palatable.

To cook the porridge, the chefs would soak the bread in rum and boil it with brown sugar. This makes it tasty and better than simply eating dry bread. As excellent as the plan, some speculated that the bread used is sometimes already weevil infected. Overall, this approach made it better to eat.

Tough and lawless on the outside, pirates were quite democratic and considerate. Injured pirates don’t miss out on the spoils of a successful loot.

There’s a provision, more like an arrangement to prepare a part of the loots for injured pirates who couldn’t participate. It’s a practice similar to insurance in modern times. Historians have debated on the authenticity of this tradition as the ruthless nature of the pirates made it difficult to imagine such a noble act was possible.

History has the legends of pirates with legendary loots that makes them fearsome and held in awe. Speaking about the stories of the pirates, however, a museum curator says the captured pirates were the famous ones.

He further gave a logical explanation of how pirates who were never charged in an Admiralty court may have had bugger exploits. Such ones kept on raiding with no one to getting real worth of their exploits. They mostly likely wrecked more havoc and had more loots than famous pirates but were not apprehended.

Oh, food! It’s not surprising food was an essential part of their lives, isn’t it for everyone? The problem is they ran out of fresh food easily. When leaving, the ship was stocked with fresh produce, but it all got bad within weeks and at most a month.

This was caused by several factors which include the unstable weather when traveling across waters. The unpredictable weather coupled with the salty moisture of the sea contributes to the loss of fresh meals. Although the fresh produce was enjoyed at the start of the journey, it never lasted long.

Pirate earrings served several purposes one of which was to protect hearing. A typical pirate ship was stacked with the infamous cannonballs.

The cannonballs come in handy when an enemy ship is in the way. Firing the balls resulted in loud bangs that could be deafening. To protect the ear or to reduce the discomforting noise, the earrings came with wads that were popped when firing. The popped wads were temporary, acting like hear buds to block out excess noise throughout the attack.

Perhaps due to the audience, movies found a less brutal way of portraying pirates because what is portrayed is far from reality. According to reports, pirates tied up victims and threw them in the open sea to drown as the ship moved or hit the body of the vessel.

Additionally, they tortured people who refused to give up their gold rings, cutting off fingers to forcefully take possession of these things. Axes and thick cutlass were common users to hack humans like trees during disputes.

Pirates had a couple of flags with distinct colors signifying different things. The bloody red flag makes a bold statement and it’s the most terrifying. It’s telling other sea users that any captured ship with be dealt with mercilessly; all onboard killed without hesitation.

The red flag is positioned high to be clearly seen from afar and instill fear as it warns of the danger to come. This flag is as terrifying as the common one with a skull and crossbones. By and large, flags were a constant thing for pirates.

Since the innovation of ships, pirates have wreaked havoc and committed tons of atrocities that included keeping people hostage. Once, some pirates were kidnapped and Julius Caesar was a hostage.

Caesar was one of the numerous people of interest the pirates held hostage. In the case of Julius Caesar, he particularly entertained them with poetry. After requesting an enormous 20 talent which could be worth millions of dollars in the present time, he laughed at them claiming he was worth 50 talent. In the end, he had the pirates crucified for the act.

Brilliant sea buccaneers! Who would have thought the eye patches helped the pirates with night vision? Of course, some pirated had empty or bad eyes and concealed them with patches. But for some, it’s a method of having an eye adjust well to darkness.

The ship of the pirate is a combination of bright light in some deck and darkness in the decks below. As they move through each of the decks with varying degrees of light rays, the patches are removed to use the covered eye in darkness; useful during an attack.

Pirate earrings certainly meant a lot, and usually are expensive articles like gold and silver. The earrings are not only expensive but sometimes engraved with the name of their home. This practice is to ensure they get a proper burial.

Pirates traveled a lot, spending most of their life on the sea. However, they didn’t want to be buried at the bottom of the sea. To that end, their earrings were melted and sold to purchase a casket and cater for the funeral arrangements to get a befitting burial.

One of the extra additions of movies is the inclusion of growls to the speech of pirates. Some even make viewers believe all pirates spoke in a West country accent. However, pirates came from all over the world and had a different accent.

The same applies to the saying of “Arrrrrr.” It’s simply a fictitious saying movie makers use to create a sort of amusing feeling and experience for viewers. Pirates never made this expression, and certainly not after every speech as if it’s a sort of incantation. Just one of the extras that added flavor to movies.

The book, Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship, gives an insight into the plunders of the pirates. The conclusion many draw from movies and books is that pirates go on treasure looting expeditions.

True as it may be, pirates also raided for daily needs. They did love the sea, violently spirited, yet daily staples were essential. When they did come across the treasures, they plundered at length, taking everything available to them forceful.

There is a reason behind the popular notion that pirates consume much alcohol. Freshwater is not always available onboard. As such, buccaneers prefer ale, rum, or beer which does not lose its taste after a long time on the sea like water.

Also, rum was particularly easy to transport on the sea, which made ships travel with barrels. Pirates even choose alcohol over water because it helps them get through the cold weather and tough fights.