The nerds at MIT are awesome, but goodness gracious are these kids dorky.
The latest manifestation of that is what had been a secret pirate society in which students who passed courses in pistol, archery, sailing and fencing were considered "pirates" in the MIT underground.
Well, as with Liz Phair and taco trucks, everything underground that's cool goes pop eventually, and now the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is actual, physical pirate certificates (paywall alert) to students who complete those courses.
The people over at DVICE found a copy of the certificates, which are on what looks like parchment paper and printed in a really old-timey, blimey font.
Basically what happened was, the physical education department apparently tired of telling student after student that the pirate thing was just something students did on their own and caved to the demands of the market. That, of course, means your pirate degree comes with a disclaimer.
"We don't want to give (the impression)," physical education instructor Cheryl Silva said, "we're giving permission to go out into the Charles River and commandeer boats."
