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We all know that "X marks the spot!"... but did it really? The answer to today's Never Stop Asking Why comes to us from the newspaper column The Straight Dope.
Some pirates buried treasure—most notably Captain William Kidd. Captain Kidd was at the time considered a pirate by authorities in the Caribbean, and headed to New York to turn himself in and hopefully clear his name. As a precaution he buried his treasure on Gardiner's Island, off of Long Island near New York City.
The act of burying treasure is not the norm, however. There were reasons for this. First of all, most of the loot gathered after a raid or attack was quickly divided up among the crew, who would rather spend it than bury it. Secondly, much of the “treasure” consisted of perishable goods like fabric, cocoa, food or other things that would quickly become ruined if buried.
The persistence of this legend is partly due to the popularity of the classic novel Treasure Island, which includes a hunt for buried pirate treasure. But even if buried treasure is mostly fictional...that doesn't have to stop us from following those treasure maps today!
Looking for more Never Stop Asking "Why?" questions? Catch up on all of the past "Whys" on the blog!
