It's called, "A Pirate of Exquisite Mind: Explorer, Naturalist, and Buccaneer: The Life of William Dampier." William Dampier is responsible for every discovery ever. Ok, I'm exaggerating, but it feels that way while reading the book. I told Corey, "Name something and William Dampier discovered it!" And Corey said, "Rubber!" And then I was like, "Oh. I don't think so, but I'm not done with the book yet either."
The coolest thing is that Dampier went to the Galapagos about 150 years before Charles Darwin and wrote about what he saw in his journal. Then Charles Darwin used Dampier's books when he went there and it helped him with his theory of evolution!
Here are other neato things Dampier did:
He was the first person to document a hurricane
He was the first person to publish a description of the Aboriginees
He named a sea lion a sea lion
He has over 1,000 entries in the Oxford English Dictionary
Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver's Travels were inspired by his journals
He made maps people still use today
And you know how you always see pirates with parrots on their shoulders? It's because of Dampier and friends. They raided a town which was deserted. The villagers heard they were on their way, took all of their valuables, and ran up into the hills. All that was left of any interest when the pirates got there were lots of caged parrots. So the pirates stole them and kept them on their ship.
And I'm only halfway done. Imagine what the coming chapters behold? And why have we never heard of this guy?
P.S. Vladimir Kush made the perfect painting for this post, don't you think?
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