why do pirates wear an eye patch?

Answer 1

Not all of them were blind in one eye or had one eye missing, some pirates used to wear one so that the eye that was covered would become sensitive to light, and would only be used at nightfall, for navigating at night!

Answer 2

In the past, I believe the navigator on sailing ships (wooden ships, tall ships) had to use an instrument called a sextant that was pointed directly at the sun to find the ship's latitude or longitude, I'm not sure which, and after many times of looking into the sun the retina became cooked and the navigator lost his eye. But most pirates wore eyepatches since childhood when they put their eyes out with the BB guns they got for Christmas.

Answer 3

Eye patches may have had a more practical purpose for sailors and pilots. According to the myth, sailors (stereotyped by the eye-patch-wearing pirate) who often went above and below deck, used eye patches to have one eye adjusted for the top deck and the other eye already adjusted for the darkness when suddenly going below deck. The strong sunlight while above deck on an oceangoing vessel could require minutes of adjustment to the dim lighting below deck. With virtually no light sources below deck, sailors would have to rely heavily upon their eyes to adjust. In the critical moments of modifying the rigging, navigating, and especially during battle, those minutes were too precious. A simple switch of the patch from one eye to the other saved time and was more convenient than being temporarily blinded when going between decks. This was deemed plausible on the January 17, 2007 episode of Mythbusters.

Answer 4

most of the time is to get one eye preped for the dark not because they have a mssing eye i just got back from out door sience school my cabin instucter told me a story were there was i pirate and his crew who beat all the enimys and once this pirate attacked this house and killed the mother and father of a little boy and the little boy askes how did he defete his father and the pirate said the eye patch and he switched eyes the boy did not know how it worked when he got older he saw the crew switched eyes and and he tried he waited and then when he took it off he could see better in the dark and he know so then the main reson pirates were patches is to defeat there enimes at night

Answer 5

Not all do.
You might as well ask why some had hooks ,wooden legs or Parrots.
It should be blatantly obvious that those with patches obviously lost the sight in that eye ,hooks a hand and stumps a leg.

Answer 6

Because one day on Long John Silver's ship, one of his pirates never took any notice of his own mother when little, when she warned the young pirate (called Jake), that if he was not careful with the sword he owned, he would have someones eye out.

Seriously, | am sorry, do not know.

Answer 7

Most pirates who wore eye patched wore them because they had lost an eye at some point. I'm sure some just wore them to look menacing, though.

Answer 8

so a journalist was interviewing a pirate with a wooden leg, a hook on his hand and a patch on his eye. the journalist asks him, how'd you lose your leg? The pirate replies: "ARG! I were fishin' in the sea an' a big ol' shark bit 'er clean off!" The journalist says, oh that's interesting, how'd you lose your hand? The pirate replies, "ARG! I were fightin' wi' these bloody theives wantin' tu take me gold and 'e just chopped me 'and clean off an' now Ah got me 'ook." The journalist says, oh, that's very interesting, so what happened to your eye? The pirate replies, "ARG! It were a dark an' stormy night an' the wind were blowin' and the lines were snappin' an' the parrot on me shoulder were so nervous 'e shat in me eye." The journalist says, "The bird poop gave you an infection?" The Pirate replies, "ARG! No, it were the first day Ah had me 'ook."

Answer 9

because the little parots on thier shoulders are attracted to shiny things, and often are drawn towards the eye. Becuase the parrot consistantly sits perched upon one shoulder (and not the other), and parrots eyes are on the sitd of thier head, they have a very good veiw of the opposite eye (the eye which may have a patch) therefore, it is fitting that the reason it is patched is becuase the parrot attacked/pecked at it. :p

Answer 10

ye i agree with the worlds biggest st Helens fan. The patch was to strengthen the covered eye to improve vision for all those night raides. Aarrgghhh.