10 Things You Didn't Know About Somali Pirates: In the 15 years since armed Somali fishermen began forcing their way onto commercial ships, pirates have turned East Africa's seas into the world's most dangerous waters. In 2008 alone, Somalia's lawless seamen captured more than 40 large vessels in the Gulf of Aden, a shortcut between Asia and Europe that's vital to the global economy. Wiping out today's pirates won't be easy; they're smarter, better organized, and, frankly, better loved abroad than the swashbucklers of yesteryear. In a special dispatch from Mombasa, Kenya, Mental Floss correspondent David Axe explains.

1. They Have a Robin Hood Complex...


Real Pirates Have Taken the 'Ho Ho' Out of 'Yo Ho Ho' for Cap'n Slappy: by STEPHANIE SIMON -Mark Summers has a beef with the pirates who are seizing cargo ships and taking hostages off the coast of Somalia: They're ruining his bad name.

For years, Mr. Summers has been donning frock coats and plumed hats and rakish red scarves and tucking blunderbusses into his belt to transform himself into Cap'n Slappy. That's Pirate Capt. Slappy to you, mate.