From the FCS Book of Little-Known Facts (pirate earrings)

While we hardly ever see a depiction of a pirate without golden earrings, it isn’t just because they thought they looked cool. Pirates were incredibly superstitious. Many of them believed that a golden earring would ensure that you never drowned. Others believed that they stopped sea sickness. However, the most common reason for wearing lavish earrings was so that if the wearer died, their gold could be melted down and used for a funeral. Many pirates would engrave their hometowns on their jewelry so that they could be buried at home.

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