# Pirates of the Caribbean has a major mistake? SPOILERS!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 4, 2004, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693 "2004-01-04T20:49:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/41 "2004-01-05T15:13:01Z")
Bootstrap Bill, after so many years chained to a cannon at the bottom of the sea, must have been pretty surprised to find himself suddenly mortal and then almost immediately drowned. But perhaps POTC2 will show him having dragged himself ashore somewhere, with our intrepid adventurers on a rescue mission, accompanied by a zombie monkey. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/42 "2004-01-05T16:01:31Z")
> [@](#): > > He says something during the movie to indicate this, but for the life of me I can’t remember what. I think it’s probably in the scene where the two cursed pirates visit him in his jail cell during the invasion of Port Royale.) I think he said something like: “So there is a curse…” I saw it just the other say and can’t quite recall… Of course, Bootstrap might have managed to drag himself out of the ocean anyway. It takes a _LOT_ of depth to actually crush bone, and itsa rather doubtful the pirates knew exactly how deep the ocean even was right when they dumped Bootstrap, much less whether it was deep enough. So he probably got out eventually, which will be a point in PotC2, I’m sure. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/43 "2004-01-05T17:55:30Z")
How deep is Human crush depth? The Caicos Bank (the high part of the Caribbean that includes some of the Turks and Caicos Islands) sits about 50 - 60 feet below the ocean’s surface. At the edge of the bank, the wall drops off to over 1000 feet. I think the Caribbean is outside the American continential shelves. So the sea floor where Bootstrap Bill was sent could very well be at crush depth. Still, I (much like many of you) would like to see Bootstrap Bill show up in PotC2. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/44 "2004-01-05T20:22:04Z")
Filming was at St. Vincent, FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/45 "2004-01-05T23:34:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Snooooopy \* > \*\*I thought he just took the coin for the hell of it. He seemed quite surprised when he became skeletal. \*\* Yeah, but I seem to recall that he seemed quite surprised at a lot of rather obvious events. Part of his character. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/46 "2004-01-06T01:35:04Z")
> [@](#): > > How deep is Human crush depth? Well, human crush depths isn’t where and undead would stop being active… its where our lungs would simply implode from the water pressure. Though I think that if one was “breathing water you’d be fine”. In this case, I don’t _think_ its deep enough to really smash us. ---
**Author:** ![Tarrsk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/97f17d/32.png) [@Tarrsk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarrsk)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/47 "2004-01-06T01:37:15Z")
> [@](#): > > **I think he said something like: “So there is a curse…” I saw it just the other say and can’t quite recall…** Cap’n Jack, when grabbed by one of the cursed pirates while in his jail cell, looks at the skeletal arm holding his throat and says, “So there is a curse… that’s interesting. That’s very interesting.” Later, while telling Elizabeth about the curse in his cabin aboard the Black Pearl, Barbossa explicitely states that the pirates knew of the curse before stealing the gold… they just didn’t believe in it until after it started taking effect. Apparently, the pirates didn’t learn just how to \*rid \*themselves of the curse until much later, after they consigned old Bootstrap Bill to the depths. ---
**Author:** ![skeptic\_ev](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@skeptic\_ev](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skeptic_ev)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/48 "2004-01-06T02:19:03Z")
> [@](#): > > I thought he couldn’t resist because he’s a pirate, a guy who steals things for a living. And saying “couldn’t resist” doesn’t sound like it was part of a clever plan; it sounds more like something done on a whim. I disagree, **Snooooopy.** If you go back and watch it again, you will see Jack and Legol–uh, _Will_–exchange a knowing look when he does it. His “I couldn’t resist” was just him being a smartass, like he is in the rest of the movie. > [@](#): > > Apparently, the pirates didn’t learn just how to rid themselves of the curse until much later, after they consigned old Bootstrap Bill to the depths. That is true, **Tarrsk**. If you recall, the guy with the wooden eye (“it splinters something terrible”) said as much. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/49 "2004-01-06T02:26:57Z")
The overwhelming weight of both physical evidence and eyewitness testimony gives me no choice but to concede. I throw myself on the mercy of the court. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/50 "2004-01-06T03:10:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* > \*\*There were numerous instances of them healing without the moonlight. Besides, the moonlight had no miraculous healing properties on them – it only “revealed them for what they really are.” \*\* If they were always skeletal yet just hidden when not in the moonlight…please explain the scene in the last fight where the three pirates were skewered and the bomb was placed in the gut of the one in the middle. It seems there was nothing they could do once out of the moonlight. ---
**Author:** ![Idlewild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8491ac/32.png) [@Idlewild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idlewild)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/51 "2004-01-06T03:27:32Z")
Not only does Jack give Will a knowing look, there’s a bit of dialogue in there where Jack says something to Barbossa about “Wait until the most opportune time to break the curse” and looks at Will, and Will gets an expression of comprehension on his daft face and says “You’ve planned this all along!” I vote Jack took the gold intending to get cursed, and planned the outcome. ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/52 "2004-01-06T11:50:32Z")
I vote that Jack certain had a plan of sorts in mind (“Wait until the most opportune time…”), but planned to get cursed as an insurance policy of sorts. He knew the pirates needed Will to lift their curse but had no reservations about killing him. Besides since the curse was so easy to lift by it’s own rules, he now knew how to undo it. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/53 "2004-01-06T12:47:44Z")
**Suzene** wrote: > [@](#): > > Bootstrap had already stolen the gold to give to Will, so I guess we can assume first grabsies are what counts to the curse, otherwise all that gold that the pirates initially spent would have probably started turning out undead pickpockets before long and that curse would have been a lot more infamous. Having seen it again recently, I noticed that they mention that the curse applies specificially to people who pull the coins from the stone chest. Of course, if it also requires the blood of everyone who did so, there’s still a bit of a mystery. I don’t recall Jack bleeding into the chest. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/54 "2004-01-06T13:24:38Z")
> [@](#): > > I throw myself on the mercy of the court. Well, we were going to hang ye by the yard-arm, but we’ll settle for raising the mizzen and saying, “Yarrr”. > [@](#): > > Of course, if it also requires the blood of everyone who did so, there’s still a bit of a mystery. I don’t recall Jack bleeding into the chest. Watch it again. He cuts himelf and drops the coin right in. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/55 "2004-01-06T13:26:04Z")
> [@](#): > > Watch it again. He cuts himelf and drops the coin right in. Nope, I misspoke. He cuts himself and throws the coin to WIll, who them drops it in. ---
**Author:** ![Super\_Gnat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Super\_Gnat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Super_Gnat)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/56 "2004-01-06T15:06:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Reeder \* > \*\*If they were always skeletal yet just hidden when not in the moonlight…please explain the scene in the last fight where the three pirates were skewered and the bomb was placed in the gut of the one in the middle. > > It seems there was nothing they could do once out of the moonlight. \*\* Well, back on the ship one pirate loses a hand, and it tries to kill Elizabeth’s father. I guess the pirates would either continue to exist in pieces or (more likely) pull themselves together, but we never really find out. ---
**Author:** ![smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smoke)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/57 "2004-01-06T15:27:21Z")
If they needed everyone’s blood to break the curse, then what about the pirates who had been lost in the battle on the ship? I’ve only seen the movie once, but didn’t some pirates get blown up or thrown overboard? ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693/58 "2004-01-06T16:09:18Z")
smoke asked > [@](#): > > If they needed everyone’s blood to break the curse, then what about the pirates who had been lost in the battle on the ship? I’ve only seen the movie once, but didn’t some pirates get blown up or thrown overboard? They had already donated when their coins were returned. They were all waiting for the last coin to return before the curse was lifted. Simon [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pirates-of-the-caribbean-has-a-major-mistake-spoilers/222693.md?page=2)