Pirates are not like you think

Why pirate myths overtook the facts; COVID‘s ‘orphanhood crisis’ [ ] [SHIVER ME TIMBERS, NOT!]( [VIEW ONLINE]( [SHIVER ME TIMBERS, NOT!]( [National Geographic]( [WHEN HISTORY WALKS THE PLANK]( Monday, May 9, 2022 In today’s newsletter, we learn two new COVID variants [are coming]( and quick work is needed to help millions of [pandemic orphans]( find out why many Americans should thank a man named [Wong Kim Ark]( ... and discover real pirates were nothing [like Long John Silver](. IMAGE COURTESY OF BRIDGEMAN IMAGES Ahoy there! Popular portrayals of pirates—with eyepatches, colorful clothing, peg legs, hook arms, or walking the plank—bear little resemblance to fact. Turns out, writers had been getting it all wrong long before the popular tales of Treasure Island and Peter Pan. We examine how pirate myths began, and how they took hold. “Common pirate phrases—such as ‘Arrrrr me mateys!’ and ‘Shiver me timbers!’” writes Jamie L. H. Goodall, “are not legitimate things a pirate would actually have said.” Yo ho ho—[here’s the full story](. Please, consider supporting our storytelling by [subscribing]( to our magazine and unlimited digital offerings. STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING [Two even more transmissible COVID variants may drive new U.S. surge]( ) [Explore why witch hunts persist]( [A Viking ship held treasures for centuries]( [The 10 best U.S. national parks]( ) [4 eco-friendly ways to keep pests out of the yard]( IN THE SPOTLIGHT PHOTOGRAPH BY TANGO IMAGES/ALAMY A fight that helped millions: He was born in San Francisco and lived most of his life there. When officials, backed by nativists, tried to take away his American citizenship and force him to China when he was returning from a trip, Wong Kim Ark fought back. The Supreme Court’s ruling in 1898 that American-born residents are citizens, even if their parents are not, protected generations of American-born residents who followed his path, Amy Briggs [writes for Nat Geo History](. [READ ON]( PHOTO OF THE DAY PHOTOGRAPH BY KAREN KASMAUSKI A life together: This bride and groom stroll at a traditional Vietnamese wedding in Virginia. This image, from a 2001 story on documented immigrants settling in the United States, was recently featured in our [Photo of the Day]( archival collection. “There are many ways to be American, just as there are many ways to be Asian,” Elaine Teng [wrote last year for Nat Geo](. [SEE VINTAGE PHOTOS]( LAST GLIMPSE PHOTOGRAPH BY MUHAMMAD FADLI Quick work needed: An estimated 10.4 million children worldwide have lost a parent or caregiver to COVID-19. Many of them have seen their family fortunes decline sharply. It is “an orphanhood crisis unprecedented in modern history,” Amy McKeever [writes for Nat Geo](. Public health officials say only strong cooperation among nations and health officials can stem long-lasting effects on kids, whose brain architecture can even change with the profound loss. (Pictured above, 14-year-old Yuni Folani, who lost her dad to COVID last summer, with her mom, Nisma, at her father’s grave in Indonesia.) [Read the full story here](. [‘AN ORPHANHOOD CRISIS’]( Today's newsletter was curated and edited by David Beard, Jen Tse, and Monica Williams. Have an idea or feedback for us? Let us know at [david.beard@natgeo.com](email: david.beard@natgeo.com). Thanks for stopping by! [NGM]( [NGM]( [SHOP]( [DONATE]( [SUBSCRIBE]( [TRAVEL]( [READ OUR LATEST STORIES]( [SHOP]( [DONATE]( [SUBSCRIBE]( [TRAVEL]( [FB]( [Twitter]( [IG]( Clicking on the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and National Geographic Channel links will take you away from our National Geographic Partners site where different terms of use and privacy policy apply. This email was sent to: {EMAIL}. Please do not reply to this email as this address is not monitored. This email contains an advertisement from: National Geographic | 1145 17th Street, N.W. | Washington, D.C. 20036 [Stop all types of future commercial email]( from National Geographic regarding its products, services, or experiences. [Manage all email preferences]( with the Walt Disney Family of Companies. © 2022 National Geographic Partners, LLC, All rights reserved.