# nursery rhyme = pirate recruitment **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [October 25, 2001, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nursery-rhyme-pirate-recruitment/89478 "2001-10-25T05:16:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zoey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b4bc9f/32.png) [@zoey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoey)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2001, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nursery-rhyme-pirate-recruitment/89478/1 "2001-10-25T05:16:35Z")
re: [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/msixpence.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/msixpence.html) I don’t know if you’ve already come across this particular theory or not but according to [http://www.Snopes.com](http://www.Snopes.com) the nursery rhyme “Sing a Song of Six Pence” was a coded message used to recruit pirates. I have posted Snopes explanation in it’s entirety but you can find it yourself by visiting that site. * * * Many of us of us fondly recall the rhyming ditties we learned as children, such as “Jack Be Nimble” and “The Farmer in the Dell.” But how many of us realize that several of our most fondly-recalled nursery rhymes (e.g., “Ring Around the Rosie” and “Little Jack Horner”) were not mere nonsense songs, but actually originated as coded references to such dark events as plagues and religious persecution? Such was the case with another childhood favorite, “Sing a Song of Sixpence.” \ The URL for this page is [http://www.snopes.com/lost/sixpence.htm](http://www.snopes.com/lost/sixpence.htm) Click here to e-mail this page to a friend Urban Legends Reference Pages © 1995-2001 by Barbara and David P. Mikkelson This material may not be reproduced without permission [Edited by bibliophage on 10-25-2001 at 01:15 AM] ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2001, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nursery-rhyme-pirate-recruitment/89478/2 "2001-10-25T05:37:24Z")
Well, **zoey** , that was certainly fascinating, I had never heard this explanation of the song before. However, I don’t really see the connection to this particular forum. Since you are new here, you may not understand this (welcome!) Or is this a very clever first post designed to illustrate possible copyright infringement? Anyway, normally only post enough to get the point across and then provide a link for the other Dopers to find out more. This forum, ATMB, is for questions about the Straight Dope boards and practice posting, etc. If there is a question you have about this Snopes article, you could ask it in General Questions forum. If you just wanted to toss it out there, to see how people feel about the literary merits, then Cafe Society might be appropriate. If you wish to seek opinions, then try In My Humble Opinion. If you just thought it was kind of odd, or funny, then maybe MPSIMS. If you want to argue the difference between state sponsored terrorism versus privateers, then maybe Great Debates would be apropos. If you wanted to scold Snopes for stealing your idea, including invective, then the BBQ Pit is your forum. Hope this helps in the future, and welcome again. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2001, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nursery-rhyme-pirate-recruitment/89478/3 "2001-10-25T05:40:12Z")
One other thing: > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by zoey \* > Urban Legends Reference Pages © 1995-2001 > by Barbara and David P. Mikkelson > This material may not be reproduced without permission \*\* This last bit means that they have copyrighted their work and you should not post it or reuse it wholesale without the author’s/Snopes’ permission. Please try to avoid this in the future… it will not endear you to the Mods who will have to come behind and clean up. ---
**Author:** ![zoey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b4bc9f/32.png) [@zoey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoey)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2001, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nursery-rhyme-pirate-recruitment/89478/4 "2001-10-25T05:53:27Z")
Obviously this forum is not as easy to use as it would first appear. When I posted that last thread I was under the impression that I was commenting on the question “What is the song ‘Sing a Song of Sixpence’ all about?”, since I clicked on “comment on this answer” at the bottom of it. I hadn’t yet read the rules because I assumed “comment on this answer” meant just that and it seemed rather straightforward. Forgive me if my ignorance of your system lead me to posting in an incorrect manner. I shall henceforth keep my big mouth shut. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2001, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nursery-rhyme-pirate-recruitment/89478/5 "2001-10-25T06:20:27Z")
Welcome to the SDMB, **zoey**. Accidentally posting in the wrong forum is not such a big deal. I’ll just move it to the Comments on Staff Reports forum. Quoting more than a paragraph or two of copyrighted works is not a good idea, so I have deleted most of the article. Readers can follow the link for the rest. A link to the Staff Report is appreciated, so I added one to your post. Please read **Dex** ’s note at the bottom of the Staff Report. > [@](#): > > PLEASE NOTE: Snopes is a very reliable and wonderful source for debunking urban legends. However, the section of Snopes called “lost legends” starts with the warning that those “legends” require suspension of disbelief, and not letting “the truth get in the way of a good story.” In short, those stories are false, they are made up, they are jokes. This includes the “piracy” origin of “Sing a Song of Sixpence” – it is totally bogus, although quite amusing. bibliophage moderator GQ [Edited by bibliophage on 10-25-2001 at 01:22 AM] ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2001, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nursery-rhyme-pirate-recruitment/89478/6 "2001-10-25T12:01:29Z")
Unfortunately, **zoey,** that’s not true. Snopes’ sixpence explanation is part of The Repository Of Lost Legends, which are made-up stories. Clicking through the “More Information About This Page” button links to [this page](http://www.snopes2.com/lost/false.htm), which says, in part, > [@](#): > > If you’re reading this page, chances are you’re here because something about one or all of the entries in The Repository Of Lost Legends (TROLL) section of this site struck you as a tadge suspect, if not downright wrong. If any or all of the stories in this section caused your internal clue phone to ring, we hope you didn’t let the answering machine take the call. That niggling little voice of common sense whispering to you in the background was right – there was something wrong with what you read. > > You’ve just had an enounter with False Authority Syndrome. > > **Everything in this section is a spoof…** [bolding mine] Their reasoning for doing this is > [@](#): > > This section graphically demonstrates the pitfalls of falling into the lazy habit of taking as gospel any one information outlet’s unsupported word…t’s just as much a mistake to look to a usually-reliable source to do all of the thinking, judging, and weighing as it was to unquestioningly believe every unsigned e-mail that came along. A poor reason, in my opinion, given that many people use snopes as something akin to an encyclopedia of urban legends, and are unlikely to see the explanation above or the hints on the [Lost Legends page.](http://www.snopes2.com/lost/) Additionally, one forms one’s opinion on any source’s veracity based on one’s impression of the overall quality of the information contained therein. I don’t normally question the accuracy of a dictionary definition every time I crack the dictionary open, and it’s annoying to have to check for deliberate untruths every time I search for something on snopes. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2001, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nursery-rhyme-pirate-recruitment/89478/7 "2001-10-25T21:34:59Z")
I agree, zut. Cecil used to get about one email a week from someone who had stumbled on Snopes “lost legends” that Mr Ed is really a zebra, and believed it. Or, at least, disbelieved enough to write Cecil. I don’t mind Snopes having a little fun, I just wish they were really clear about which things are spoofs. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2001, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nursery-rhyme-pirate-recruitment/89478/8 "2001-10-26T20:47:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by C K Dexter Haven \* > \*\*I don’t mind Snopes having a little fun, I just wish they were really clear about which things are spoofs. \*\* They are-they put them all on the TROLL page. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2001, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nursery-rhyme-pirate-recruitment/89478/9 "2001-10-27T14:55:22Z")
\<\< They are-they put them all on the TROLL page. \>\> Well, yeah, but that’s only clear if you read the intros and catch the acronym/pun, and are THINKING. OK, sure, that’s their point, but… As I say, Cecil gets mail on this from good-hearted people who got referenced to the site, don’t read all of Snopes, just read that one article, and think it’s true. ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2001, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nursery-rhyme-pirate-recruitment/89478/10 "2001-10-28T00:33:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mobo85 \* > They are-they put them all on the TROLL page. Well yeah, also, BUT: But that ignores _the way_ in which many people use snopes, which is something like an encyclopedia. Imagine that I’ve heard a rumor that Mr. Ed was really a mare. I check it out on snopes, using their handy search feature. Interestingly, one of the first items is the _verified_ rumor that Mr. Ed is a zebra. “My goodness!” I cry, “I can’t believe it!” I click through to the article and read it. It’s a little odd, but everything else I’ve seen on snopes is well-researched, so I decide that it must be true as written. And this would be an example where I don’t ever see the intro page, and wind up missing the TROLL pun, and come to the perfectly reasonable conclusion that Mr. Ed was, indeed, a zebra. By the way, I’ve got a number of relatives who are, shall we say, more prone to believing urban legends than the more-savvy among us. I’ve encouraged them to use snopes as a resource before believing something or forwarding emails. I dread having to explain to them why Mr. Ed is really _not_ a zebra, even though they found it confirmed on snopes.