Talk Like a Pirate Day was born in 1995 when two friends from Oregon jokingly created the holiday while playing racquetball. They celebrated it quietly for a few years, sharing the joke with a small group of friends. One day in 2002, they wrote to humor columnist Dave Barry asking him to be the spokesperson for Talk Like a Pirate Day. Amused by the idea, Barry agreed. He wrote a column about the holiday, giving it federal prominence and spawning a wave of Talk Like a Pirate Day events and celebrations across the country.
