St Kitts and Nevis

Chances are you get annoyed seeing an hourglass, hinting at a slow process. But scared? 

Sand hourglass symbolizes mortality, and images of it were widely used on pirate flags to warn that the “sands of time” might run out for any they met.

St Kitts and Nevis, a nation with both white and black beaches, became the epicenter for the search for one of many treasures pirates in the Caribbean fought over.

Pirates hoisted flags decorated with metaphorical symbols of death, including the sand hourglass, to strike fear into the hearts of victims, prompting them to give up without a fight. Else experience their sand of time to run out…