# On which shoulder should a pirate wear her parrot? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 18, 2007, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-shoulder-should-a-pirate-wear-her-parrot/419562 "2007-09-18T01:04:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-shoulder-should-a-pirate-wear-her-parrot/419562/21 "2007-09-18T14:45:59Z")
Shiver me timbers! Tis that time o’ year agin! Aye, laddies-it’s up the riggin’ and away she sails to ports far and wide, think on. \ I’m ready! (Parrot goes on the left if right handed and vice versa). ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-shoulder-should-a-pirate-wear-her-parrot/419562/22 "2007-09-18T17:09:18Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] I get jokes. [/QUOTE] I get them, too. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-shoulder-should-a-pirate-wear-her-parrot/419562/23 "2007-09-18T17:53:41Z")
The parrot shoulder depends on your political bent. Some prefer to listen to the left wing, some prefer the right. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-shoulder-should-a-pirate-wear-her-parrot/419562/24 "2007-09-18T17:57:19Z")
[QUOTE=Scuba\_Ben] Usually, the patch is worn over the eye that got cut out in a fight; it doesn’t do any good to wear the patch over the good eye. Like so: :dubious: \ [/QUOTE] Pirates didn’t wear eye patches because they had an eye cut out, they wore them when above deck, so when they went below deck, they could remove the patch and not have to waste valuable time (for example, during a fight) adjusting to the darkness. > **[Eyepatch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_patch#Sailors)** > > An eyepatch is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, an adhesive bandage, or a plastic device which is clipped to a pair of glasses. It is often worn by people to cover a lost, infected, or injured eye, but it also has a therapeutic use in children for the treatment of amblyopia. Eyepatches used to block light while sleeping are referred to as a sleep mask. An eyepad or eye pad is a soft medical dressing... ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-shoulder-should-a-pirate-wear-her-parrot/419562/25 "2007-09-18T18:16:41Z")
Avast, me parrot always sat wherever the hell he wanted to, and would fly away whenever the swordplay began anyway. Arrrrrrr. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-shoulder-should-a-pirate-wear-her-parrot/419562/26 "2007-09-18T18:18:03Z")
Dammit, I have no idea what I did with those gypsy earrings and headscarf a long while back… ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-shoulder-should-a-pirate-wear-her-parrot/419562/27 "2007-09-18T18:46:09Z")
[QUOTE=Pygmy Rugger] Pirates didn’t wear eye patches because they had an eye cut out, they wore them when above deck, so when they went below deck, they could remove the patch and not have to waste valuable time (for example, during a fight) adjusting to the darkness. [/QUOTE] Are we sure it’s not the other way around? At night, especially with no moon, it would be wise to wear an eyepatch below decks (reading a chart by lantern light, for example) to preserve your dark-adjusted vision for sailing the ship. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-shoulder-should-a-pirate-wear-her-parrot/419562/28 "2007-09-18T19:09:27Z")
[QUOTE=Robot Arm] Are we sure it’s not the other way around? At night, especially with no moon, it would be wise to wear an eyepatch below decks (reading a chart by lantern light, for example) to preserve your dark-adjusted vision for sailing the ship. [/QUOTE] That seams plausible, also, as the linked article mentions that was the case for airplane pilots before modern cockpit lighting methods were introduced. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-shoulder-should-a-pirate-wear-her-parrot/419562/29 "2007-09-18T19:25:23Z")
Oh Christ, somebody will do a system wide email about _Talk Like a Pirate Day._ Then the Boss will get all pissed off and ask me why the IT department lets that happen. And I’ll have to respond, _Aarrrrrr! Aye, Skipper, shall I keel-haul 'em afore they walk the plank, or shall I just feed 'em directly to the sharks?_ dammit ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-shoulder-should-a-pirate-wear-her-parrot/419562/30 "2007-09-18T20:37:17Z")
[QUOTE=Hypno-Toad] The parrot shoulder depends on your political bent. Some prefer to listen to the left wing, some prefer the right. [/QUOTE] \ brilliant! ---
**Author:** ![gardentraveler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gardentraveler/32/3576_2.png) [@gardentraveler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gardentraveler)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-shoulder-should-a-pirate-wear-her-parrot/419562/31 "2007-09-18T22:41:31Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] Oh Christ, somebody will do a system wide email about _Talk Like a Pirate Day._ Then the Boss will get all pissed off and ask me why the IT department lets that happen. And I’ll have to respond, _Aarrrrrr! Aye, Skipper, shall I keel-haul 'em afore they walk the plank, or shall I just feed 'em directly to the sharks?_ dammit [/QUOTE] You could, of course, always send the e-mail yourself and pass it off as a pre-emptive strike? No? GT (why don’t we have a pirate smiley?) ---
**Author:** ![Rasa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rasa/32/3578_2.png) [@Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rasa)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-shoulder-should-a-pirate-wear-her-parrot/419562/32 "2007-09-18T23:20:36Z")
I heard only gay pirates wear their parrot on their right shoulder. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-shoulder-should-a-pirate-wear-her-parrot/419562/33 "2007-09-18T23:23:25Z")
[QUOTE=gardentraveler] You could, of course, always send the e-mail yourself and pass it off as a pre-emptive strike? [/QUOTE] Arrr, Skipper, should any of these pox faced, whoreson lubbers be sendin’ email concarnin’ “Be Talkin’ Like a Pirate Day”, should I be keel haulin’ them afore they walk the plank, or just send their email accounts directly to the sharks? I think it loses something if she doesn’t know about it first…and we should definitely change to to _Be Talkin’ Like a Pirate Day_. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Dave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/46a35a/32.png) [@Great\_Dave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Dave)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-shoulder-should-a-pirate-wear-her-parrot/419562/34 "2007-09-18T23:28:26Z")
Don’t forget to wear your Arrrrrrrgyle socks. ---
**Author:** ![Omi\_no\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Omi\_no\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omi_no_Kami)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-shoulder-should-a-pirate-wear-her-parrot/419562/35 "2007-09-21T14:19:06Z")
I know that in many cases, the navigators would inevitably go mostly or totally blind in the eye they habitually use to sight the sun with their sextant… ---
**Author:** ![Omegaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2007, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-shoulder-should-a-pirate-wear-her-parrot/419562/36 "2007-09-21T14:49:09Z")
Passenger side, in case you need to turn. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2007, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-shoulder-should-a-pirate-wear-her-parrot/419562/37 "2007-09-22T03:47:27Z")
[QUOTE=Monster104] Real pirates have parrots for _both_ shoulders. [/QUOTE] Only the ones trying to compensate for a deficiency in other departments and we STILL havent addressed the peg leg question,or now someones had the moral courage to get the subject out into the open ,the hook !which wrist? ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2007, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-shoulder-should-a-pirate-wear-her-parrot/419562/38 "2007-09-22T03:48:50Z")
[QUOTE=robinc308] So what should the self respecting ambidextrous pirate do? [/QUOTE] Stick it up his mast! ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2007, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-shoulder-should-a-pirate-wear-her-parrot/419562/39 "2007-09-22T03:59:16Z")
Just thought I’d post this video: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLsJyfN0ICU) He wears it on his right side, along with his eyepatch ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2007, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-shoulder-should-a-pirate-wear-her-parrot/419562/40 "2007-09-22T13:47:07Z")
[QUOTE=Lust4Life] Only the ones trying to compensate for a deficiency in other departments and we STILL havent addressed the peg leg question,or now someones had the moral courage to get the subject out into the open ,the hook !which wrist? [/QUOTE] Depends which hand you wipe your arrrrrrrse with [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-which-shoulder-should-a-pirate-wear-her-parrot/419562.md?page=1)