“How much citrus does it take to kill a pirate?”/“None.”

Citrus fruits (lemons and limes) were used in the 19th century by sailors to prevent scurvy. A riddle was posted on Reddit—Jokes on January 27, 2017:
 
Q: How much citrus does it take to kill a pirate?
A: None.
 
The riddle was posted again in this slightly re-worded form on Reddit—Jokes on February 7, 2017, and on Reddit—Cleanjokes on October 22, 2020:
   
Q: How many citrus fruits does it take to kill a pirate?
A: None.
     
That is, without citrus fruits, the pirate will succumb to scurvy.
   
     
Wikipedia: Limey
Limey is a predominantly American slang nickname for a British person.
 
History
The term is thought to have originated in the 1850s as lime-juicer, later shortened to “limey”, and originally used as a derogatory word for sailors in the British Royal Navy. Since the beginning of the 19th century, it had been the practice of the Royal Navy to add lemon juice to the sailors’ daily ration of grog (watered-down rum). The vitamin C (specifically L-ascorbic acid) in citrus fruits prevented scurvy (see James Lind) and helped to make these sailors some of the healthiest of the time. At that time, “lemon” and “lime” were used interchangeably to refer to citrus fruits.[5] Initially, lemon juice (from lemons imported from Europe) was used as the additive to grog on the Royal Navy ships but was later switched to limes (grown in British colonies), not realizing that limes contained only a quarter of the vitamin C the lemons had, and that the way the juice was stored and processed destroyed much of that, leaving the lime juice unable to prevent scurvy.
 
Reddit—Jokes
Posted by u/[deleted] January 27, 2017
How much citrus does it take to kill a pirate?
[deleted]
COMMENTS
gurkanozil
I don’t get it. Arghhh
slim3-16
Scurvy me hearty.
FrivolousGuy
Yarr! Ahoy thar me matey citrus contains vitamin c which keep ye from getting scurvy and dying.
     
Twitter
me
@not_actuallyme
How much citrus does it take to kill a pirate? via /r/Jokes http://ift.tt/2jbdMlS
6:15 AM · Jan 27, 2017·IFTTT
   
Twitter
Bob Kostic
@causticbob
How much citrus does it take to kill a pirate?
None.
5:14 PM · Jan 28, 2017·Twitter Web Client
     
Reddit—Jokes
Posted by u/PandaMango February 7, 2017
How many citrus fruits does it take to kill a pirate?
None.
COMMENTS
Too_Many_Sheep
How many potatoes does is it take to kill an Irishman? None.
dlo77
Um…someone please explain. I don’t get it
fairyfloss17
Pirates and sailors were notorious for contracting scurvy from not having enough vitamin C onboard
 
Twitter
me
@not_actuallyme
How many citrus fruits does it take to kill a pirate? via /r/Jokes http://ift.tt/2k0725N
8:56 PM · Feb 7, 2017·IFTTT
   
Twitter
Bob Kostic
@causticbob
How much citrus does it take to kill a pirate?
None.
#TalkLikeAPirateDay
7:40 AM · Sep 19, 2017·Twitter Web Client
 
Reddit—Cleanjokes
Posted by u/kickypie October 22, 2020
How many citrus fruits does it take to kill a pirate?
None.