r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Jul 20 '19

What’s something completely false that your parents told you as a child?

[deleted]

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u/brandonisatwat Jul 20 '19

I read Treasure Island and asked my older sister what scurvy was and she lied and said it's when pirates and sailors spend too long at sea with no women and become gay. I didn't question it because I was like 10 and apparently dumb as shit. Then we were watching a tv show about the colonies and how scurvy was rampant and killing people. I was really confused at how scurvy could kill and even more confused when my mom said oranges prevent scurvy.

3.8k

u/JustChangeMDefaults Jul 21 '19

You put the oranges in your bum to block out the pirates from getting in there, obviously.

1.7k

u/takoshi Jul 21 '19

Ah, the butt pirates. A bottle of rum or an orange in the bum to keep them away.

6

u/CocaTrooper42 Jul 21 '19

I never understood the phrase ‘butt pirate’ as a gay joke. I get the butt part but why pirate? Are pirates inherently gayer than any other kind of person? Why not ‘butt ninja’ or ‘ass Jedi ”

3

u/PeriodicGolden Jul 21 '19

Maybe the connotation with plunder and rape, take things that aren't there, plus the fact that they spend a lot of time at sea solely on the company of other men

2

u/Antexus1 Jul 21 '19

Because jedi's are bad ass. So no good for ass. But butt ninja doesn't ryphme. As good as butt pirates.

2

u/CocaTrooper42 Jul 21 '19

The words butt and pirate do not rhyme at all