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Ten Thousand Years

99% Invisible

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Symbols of the Pirates

The earliest uses of it are in religious paintings and sculptures from a the middle ages. In 17 20, a pirate named calico jack rackham was captured and put on trial. The name jolly roger is probably an english corruption of the french, joli rouge,. Because the original pirate flags were red, not black. After that trial, the skull and cross bones started showing up on book covers, treasure island, kind of novels. Jump ahead to the late 18 hundreds die. Factories in germany started using the skull andcross bones as a symbol for poison.

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