Hard Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a Pirate's Life for Me! Quiz / Test

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Arr, young Jim Hawkins 'ere. I be the lad from that book "Treasure Island". I tell you, that Long John Silver and his squawking parrot Cap'n Flint be a right pair to be avoided. If I had a choice of islands to be on right now, it wouldn't be Treasure Island - I'd be having a nice holiday on one of those Balearics. The Balearic Islands lie off the coast of Spain, but tell me if that is off the north, south, east or west coast of Spain?

Answer: East

The Balearic Islands lie off the east coast of Spain and have a combined population of just over one million people (2011 estimates). There are four main islands: Menorca, Mallorca, Ibiza and Formentara. Of these, Mallorca is the largest. The islands are a popular destination for sun lovers and party-goers throughout the holiday season.

(Question by dolano)

2. Blistering barnacles! The bravest buccaneer of them all was Captain Horatio Pugwash, with his trusty crew of Master Mate, the pirates Willy and Barnabas, and Tom the cabin boy. What was the name of the pirate ship in which they sailed the high seas?

Answer: Black Pig

Captain Pugwash first appeared in "The Eagle" comic in 1950, and most famously in 86 BBC short cartoon films from 1957 onwards. Cowardly and stupid (or was that just part of his cunning deception?), he was usually rescued from disaster by the resourceful cabin boy Tom. His arch-enemy was Cut Throat Jake, skipper of the Flying Dustpan. A long standing urban legend persuaded many people that thinly veiled sexual innuendos were contained in this children's cult cartoon, but Pugwash's creator John Ryan successfully sued two newspapers which printed this as fact. Kipper me capstans!

(Question by dsimpy)

3. What was the name of the radio station set up onboard a ship anchored off South East England in 1964, that became associated with the phrase "pirate radio"?

Answer: Radio Caroline

Founded by Irishman Ronan O'Rahilly, Radio Caroline tried to break the strict commercial hold of the record companies. The Caroline brand was successfully franchised to other stations. "The Boat that Rocked", a 2009 movie, tells of very similar events on a fictional pirate radio ship.

(Question by IrishTinyTim)

4. The term 'piracy', describing copyright infringement of printed material, appears first in 1603. What was the world's first full copyright statute, enacted in Britain in 1709?

Answer: Statute of Anne

The first reference to copyright 'piracy' appeared in Thomas Dekker's "The Wonderfull Yeare" in 1603. The full name of the 1709 legislation was "An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by Vesting the Copies of Printed Books in the Authors or Purchasers of Such Copies, during the Times therein Mentioned", but it took its better known (and shorter!) name of the Statute of Anne from the fact it was enacted during the reign of Queen Anne, the British monarch from 1702-1714.

(Question by dsimpy)

5. Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann teamed up with a drink-loving, seemingly-insane pirate in "The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" movie. What was this pirate's name?

Answer: Captain Jack Sparrow

Jack Sparrow's main goal was to reclaim the ship The Black Pearl that he was previously captain of. However, a mutiny took place and he was left for dead on a deserted island. Johnny Depp starred as Captain Jack Sparrow in this 2003 film, with Orlando Bloom as Will Turner and Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swann.

(Question by Chumsy17)

6. Which Horn of Africa country, early in the 21st century, became most closely identified with modern-day piracy in the Gulf of Aden?

Answer: Somalia

From around 2005, the Gulf of Aden - part of the major Suez shipping route connecting the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean - became known as 'Pirate Alley' due to an explosion of acts of piracy, hijacking and kidnapping originating from Somalia. While it has been claimed that this upsurge in piracy had its roots in Somali fishermen's frustration at their livelihoods being threatened by illegal overfishing and toxic waste dumping by foreign ships in Somalian waters, it was also related to the acute political instability and lack of central government in the country since the outbreak of civil war in 1991. Much of the piracy was based in the autonomous Puntland region of northeast Somalia.

(Question by dsimpy)

7. Female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read escaped the pirate gallows, claiming to be pregnant by which swinging captain?

Answer: Calico Jack Rackham

It was reported that Mary and Anne were also lovers. Neither Anne nor Mary were hanged, though the same could not be said for the randy Jack. Mary died from complications of childbirth, while Anne's fate is unknown.
(source: republicofpirates.net)

(Question by rbutcher42)

8. The "New York Times" bestseller "A Pirate Looks at 50" was authored by which parrotheaded singer?

Answer: Jimmy Buffett

Most famous for "Margaritaville", Buffett has turned that title into a multimillion dollar brand. Jimmy Buffett has been one of the rare performers to stream his concerts live online. 'Parrothead' is a term coined to describe fans of Buffett.

(Question by rbutcher42)

9. Pirates were always making unfortunate sailors walk the plank. Which American rock band had a 1970s hit song titled "Walk This Way"?

Answer: Aerosmith

The Aerosmith song "Walk This Way" featured on the 1975 album "Toys in the Attic". This album brought Aerosmith to the mainstream consciousness. The band followed up with the album "Rocks" in 1976 to great acclaim, boosting their status even further.

(Question by dolano)

10. Grace O'Malley was a famous pirate queen who extracted 'taxes' from ships along the western seaboard of Ireland in the 16th century. By what Irish nickname is she often known?

Answer: Granuaile

Granuaile or Gr�inne Mhaol (Bald Gr�inne) came about when her father refused to take her onboard ships because of her long hair. She promptly cut it tight to her head. The Irish song "�ro S� do Bheatha 'Bhaile" mentions her in the version by Padraig Pearse:

"Gr�inne O'Malley is coming over the sea,
Armed warriors along with her as her guard,
They are Irishmen, not French nor Spanish...
And they will rout the foreigners!"

(Question by IrishTinyTim)

Source: Author dsimpy

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Pagiedamon before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a Pirate's Life for Me! Quiz

This quiz explores different aspects of piracy, from real-life swashbuckling buccaneers and cutthroats to a range of other pirate themes in film, books, songs, TV and radio. Kipper me capstans!

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