Ripley's Believe It or Not! - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Ripley's Believe It or Not! is a franchise, founded by Robert Ripley

Robert Ripley

Robert LeRoy Ripley was an American cartoonist, entrepreneur and amateur anthropologist, who created the world famous Ripley's Believe It or Not! newspaper panel series, radio show, and television show which feature odd 'facts' from around the world.Subjects covered in Ripley's cartoons and text...

, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. The Believe It or Not panel proved popular and was later adapted into a wide variety of formats, including radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

, television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

, a chain of museums, and a book series.

The Ripley collection includes 20,000 photographs, 30,000 artifacts and more than 100,000 cartoon panels. With 80-plus attractions, the Orlando

Orlando, Florida

Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...

-based Ripley Entertainment, Inc., a division of the Jim Pattison Group

Jim Pattison Group

The Jim Pattison Group is Canada’s third largest privately held company and, in a recent survey by the Financial Post, The Jim Pattison Group was ranked as Canada’s 62nd largest company. Jim Pattison, a Vancouver-based entrepreneur is the Chairman, President, CEO, and sole owner of the Jim Pattison...

, is a global company with an annual attendance of more than 12 million guests. Ripley Entertainment's publishing and broadcast divisions oversee numerous projects, including the syndicated TV series, the newspaper cartoon panel, books, posters and games.

Syndicated feature panel

Ripley first called his cartoon feature, originally involving sports feats, Champs and Chumps, and it premiered on December 19, 1918, in the New York Globe. Ripley began adding items not related to sports, and in October 1919 he changed the title to Believe It or Not. When the Globe folded in 1923, Ripley moved to the New York Evening Post. That same year, Ripley hired Norbert Pearlroth

Norbert Pearlroth

Norbert Pearlroth was the primary researcher for the Believe It or Not! cartoon panel from 1923 until 1975....

as his researcher, and Pearlroth spent the next 52 years of his life in the New York Public Library, working ten hours a day and six days a week in order to find unusual facts for Ripley. Other writers and researchers included Lester Byck.

Those working on the syndicated newspaper panel after Ripley included Joe Campbell (1946–1956), Art Sloggatt (1917–1975), Clem Gretter (1941–1949), Carl Dorese, Bob Clarke (1943–1944), Stan Randall, Paul Frehm

Paul Frehm

Paul Frehm is a cartoonist who worked on the comic strip Ripley's Believe It or Not. He received the National Cartoonist Society Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award for his work on the strip in 1976.-External links:*...

(1938–1978; he became the full time artist in 1949) and his brother Walter Frehm (1948–1989); Walter worked part time with his brother Paul and became a full time Ripley artist from 1978–1989. Paul Frehm won the National Cartoonists Society

National Cartoonists Society

The National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the troops...

's Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award for 1976 for his work on the series. Clarke later created parodies of Believe It or Not! for Mad
Mad (magazine)
Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...

, as did Wally Wood

Wally Wood

Wallace Allan Wood was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, best known for his work in EC Comics and Mad. He was one of Mads founding cartoonists in 1952. Although much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood, he became known as Wally Wood, a name he...

and Ernie Kovacs

Ernie Kovacs

Ernie Kovacs was a Hungarian American comedian and actor.Kovacs' uninhibited, often ad-libbed, and visually experimental comedic style came to influence numerous television comedy programs for years after his death in an automobile accident...

, who also did a recurring satire called "Strangely Believe It!" on his TV programs.

At the peak of its popularity, the syndicated feature was read daily by about 80 million readers, and during the first three weeks of May 1932 alone, Ripley received over two million pieces of fan mail. Dozens of paperback editions reprinting the newspaper panels have been published over the decades. Other strips and books borrowed the Ripley design and format, such as Ralph Graczak's Our Own Oddities
Our Own Oddities
Our Own Oddities is an illustrated panel that ran in the Sunday comics section of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch from 1940 to 1990. When it began September 1, 1940, it was titled St. Louis Oddities. The feature displayed curiosities submitted by local readers and is often remembered for its drawings...

, Strange as It Seems
Strange as it Seems
Strange as it Seems first appeared as a syndicated cartoon feature in 1928 and became a familiar brand to millions across the globe for its comic strips, books, radio shows and film shorts. Created by John Hix, Strange as it Seems was distinguished for its adherence to Hix's standard that every...

by John Hix and Gordon Johnston's It Happened in Canada
It Happened in Canada
It Happened in Canada was a syndicated Canadian cartoon feature by Gordon Johnston that presented Canadian facts and achievements. As many as 65 newspapers in Canada carried the comic during its run in the 1970s and 1980s. Some episodes featured relatively obscure details about Prime Ministers such...

. Recent Ripley's Believe It or Not! books containing new material have supplemented illustrations with photographs.

Peanuts
Peanuts
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...

creator Charles M. Schulz

Charles M. Schulz

Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz was an American cartoonist, whose comic strip Peanuts proved one of the most popular and influential in the history of the medium, and is still widely reprinted on a daily basis.-Early life and education:Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Schulz grew up in Saint Paul...

's first publication of artwork was published by Ripley. It was a cartoon claiming his dog was "a hunting dog who eats pins, tacks and razor blades." Schulz's dog Spike later became the model for Peanuts' Snoopy

Snoopy

Snoopy is an fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. He is Charlie Brown's pet beagle. Snoopy began his life in the strip as a fairly conventional dog, but eventually evolved into perhaps the strip's most dynamic character—and among the most recognizable...

Books

Some notable books:

Ripley's Believe It or Not (1929), reprinted in 2004
Ripley's Mammoth Book of Believe It or Not (1955)
Ripley's Giant Book of Believe It or Not (1976)
Ripley's 35th Anniversary Believe It or Not (1954)
Ripley's 50th Anniversary Believe It or Not (1968)

A series of paperback books containing annotated sketches from the newspaper feature:

Ripley's Believe It or Not 1st Series (1941)
Ripley's Believe It or Not 2nd Series (1948)
Ripley's Believe It or Not 3rd Series (1954)

...

Ripley's Believe It or Not 34th Series (1982)

Ripley Entertainment produces a range of books featuring unusual facts, news stories and photographs. In 2004 Ripley Entertainment founded Ripley Publishing Ltd

Ripley Publishing Ltd

Ripley Publishing is a publisher based in London, United Kingdom. The company was set up in 2008 by Ripley Entertainment, owner of the Ripley's Believe It or Not! brand of museums, cartoons, television shows and books...

, based in the United Kingdom, to publish new Believe It or Not titles. The company produces the New York Times bestselling Ripley's Believe It or Not! Annuals

Ripley's Believe It or Not Annual

Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Annual is a hardback reference book of unusual stories and images. The books consist of hundreds of snippets and longer in-depth articles, illustrated with glossy photographs. Seven books have been produced since 2005 and they are published worldwide by Ripley Publishing...

, the children’s fiction series Ripley’s RBI

Ripley's Bureau of Investigation

Ripley’s Bureau of Investigation is a series of children’s fiction books published by Ripley Publishing in the United States, and distributed by Random House in the United Kingdom and in Australia The series follows seven extraordinary pupils at the fictional 'Ripley High', based on Ripley’s...

, an educational series called the Ripley’s Twists, the Ripley's Believe It or Not! Special Edition

Ripley's Believe It or Not Special Edition

Ripley's Believe It or Not! Special Edition is a hardback non-fiction book published annually since 2004. The book is aimed at young readers and presents weird stories and photographs in a similar format to the larger, more mature Ripley’s Believe It or Not! annual. The book is produced by Ripley...

in conjunction with Scholastic USA and a number of other titles. At the height of his popularity Robert Ripley

Robert Ripley

received thousands of letters a day from the public, and Ripley Entertainment continues to encourage submissions from readers who have strange stories and photographs that could be featured in Ripley’s Believe It or Not! books and media.

Radio

In April 1930, Ripley brought "Believe It or Not" to radio

Radio

, the first of several series heard on NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

, CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

and the Mutual Broadcasting System

Mutual Broadcasting System

The Mutual Broadcasting System was an American radio network, in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. radio drama, MBS was best known as the original network home of The Lone Ranger and The Adventures of Superman and as the long-time radio residence of The Shadow...

. As noted by Ripley On Radio, Ripley's broadcasts varied in length from 15 minutes to 30 minutes and aired in numerous different formats. When Ripley's 1930 debut on The Collier Hour
The Collier Hour
The Collier Hour, broadcast on the NBC Blue Network from 1927 to 1932, was radio's first major dramatic anthology, aka Collier's Radio Hour. It offered adaptations of stories and serials from Collier's in a calculated move to increase subscriptions and compete with The Saturday Evening Post...

brought a strong listener reaction, he was given a Monday night NBC series beginning April 14, 1930, followed by a 1931–32 series airing twice a week. After his strange stories were dramatized on NBC's Saturday Party, Ripley was the host of The Baker's Broadcast from 1935 to 1937. He was scheduled in several different 1937–38 NBC timeslots and then took to the road with popular remote broadcasts. See America First with Bob Ripley (1939–40) on CBS expanded geographically into See All the Americas, a 1942 program with Latin music. In 1944, he was heard five nights a week on Mutual in shows with an emphasis on WWII. Romance, Rhythm and Ripley aired on CBS in 1945, followed by Pages from Robert L. Ripley's Radio Scrapbook (1947–48).

Robert Ripley is known for several radio firsts. He was the first to broadcast nationwide on a radio network from mid-ocean, and he also participated in the first broadcast from Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

to New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. Assisted by a corps of translators, he was the first to broadcast to every nation in the world simultaneously.

As the years went on, the show became less about oddities and featured guest-driven entertainment such as comedy routines. Sponsors over the course of the program included Pall Mall cigarettes

Pall Mall (cigarette)

Pall Mall cigarettes are a brand of cigarettes produced by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and internationally by British American Tobacco at multiple sites.- History :...

and General Foods

General Foods

General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the USA by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The name General Foods was adopted in 1929, after several corporate acquisitions...

. The program ended its successful run in 1948 as Ripley prepared to convert the show format to television syndication

Television syndication

In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...

Films, television, internet and computer game

The newspaper feature has been adapted into more than a few films and TV shows.

Film

Ripley hosted a series of two dozen Believe It or Not! theatrical short films in 1930 and 1931 for Warner Brothers Vitaphone
Vitaphone
Vitaphone was a sound film process used on feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects produced by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1930. Vitaphone was the last, but most successful, of the sound-on-disc processes...

. He also appeared in a Vitaphone musical short, Seasons Greetings (1931), with Ruth Etting, Joe Penner
Joe Penner
Joe Penner was an American 1930s-era vaudeville, radio and film comedian. He was an ethnic Hungarian born as József Pintér in Nagybecskerek, Austria-Hungary...

, Ted Husing
Ted Husing
Edward Britt Husing was an American sportscaster and was among the first to lay the groundwork for the structure and pace of modern sports reporting on television and radio.-Early life and career:...

, Thelma White
Thelma White
Thelma White was an American radio and film actress. White is best known for her role in the 1936 exploitation film Reefer Madness.-Early life and career:...

, Ray Collins
Ray Collins (actor)
Ray Bidwell Collins was an American actor in film, stage, radio, and television. One of Collins' best remembered roles was that of Lt. Arthur Tragg in the long-running series Perry Mason.- Biography :...

, and others. A 2-DVD release featuring 24 of these theatrical shorts is available in the USA beginning March 16, 2010 from Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...

, through their Warner Archive manufacture-on-demand program.
Ripley's short films were parodied in a 1939 Warner Brothers Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...

cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...

titled Believe it or Else!. Released on 25 June, directed by Tex Avery
Tex Avery
Frederick Bean "Fred/Tex" Avery was an American animator, cartoonist, voice actor and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He did his most significant work for the Warner Bros...

and written by Dave Monahan, it featured a running gag in which Egghead (a prototype Elmer Fudd
Elmer Fudd
Elmer J. Fudd/Egghead is a fictional cartoon character and one of the most famous Looney Tunes characters, and the de facto archenemy of Bugs Bunny. He has one of the more disputed origins in the Warner Bros. cartoon pantheon . His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring...

) appeared to declare, "I don't believe it!" On 5 November of the same year, another Avery documentary parody, Fresh Fish, was released. Written by Jack Miller
Jack Miller
Jack Richard Miller was a Republican United States Senator from Iowa who served two terms from 1961 to 1973, and then a federal appellate judge....

, this cartoon's running gag was a two-headed fish that kept swimming onto the screen to ask, "Pardon me, but can you tell me where I can find Mister Ripley?"

A movie about the life of Robert Ripley
Robert Ripley
Robert LeRoy Ripley was an American cartoonist, entrepreneur and amateur anthropologist, who created the world famous Ripley's Believe It or Not! newspaper panel series, radio show, and television show which feature odd 'facts' from around the world.Subjects covered in Ripley's cartoons and text...

is to be released in 2012, starring Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...

.

Television

The first Believe It or Not TV series, a live show hosted by Ripley, premiered March 1, 1949. Shortly after the 13th episode, on May 27, 1949, Ripley died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...

and several of his friends substituted as host, including future Ripley's Believe It or Not! president Doug Storer
Doug Storer
Doug Storer was a radio producer, talent agent, and writer responsible for creating and producing radio programs from the 1930s to the 1960s, including Ripley's Believe It or Not and Renfrew of the Royal Mounted.-External links:...

. Robert St. John served as host from the second season until the series ended on October 5, 1950.

Ripley's Believe It or Not! aired from 1982 to 1986 on the American ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

television network. Based on three pilots/specials conceived, produced and directed by Ron Lyon and Jack Haley, Jr, (1980-81) the series was a Haley/Lyon/Rastar production in association with Columbia Pictures. Featuring film star Jack Palance
Jack Palance
Jack Palance , was an American actor. During half a century of film and television appearances, Palance was nominated for three Academy Awards, all as Best Actor in a Supporting Role, winning in 1991 for his role in City Slickers.-Early life:Palance, one of five children, was born Volodymyr...

who hosted the popular series throughout its run, the series had three different co-hosts, who appeared from season to season, initially actress Catherine Shirriff
Catherine Shirriff
Catherine Shirriff is a Canadian actress. Her notable roles include the Klingon Valkris in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, and co-host with Jack Palance of the first season of the ABC television documentary series Ripley's Believe It or Not!....

followed by Palance's daughter, Holly Palance
Holly Palance
Holly Palance is an American actress.Palance was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of the actor Jack Palance and his wife Virginia Baker. Holly was the first of three children born to the couple, followed by Brooke Palance in 1952 and Cody Palance in 1955...

, later singer Marie Osmond
Marie Osmond
Olive Marie Osmond is an American singer, actress, doll designer, and a member of the show business family The Osmonds. Although she was never part of her family's singing group, she gained success as a solo country music artist in the 1970s and 1980s...

. The 1980s series reran on the Sci-Fi Channel (UK)
Sci Fi channel (United Kingdom)
Syfy is a television channel service specialising in science fiction, fantasy and horror shows and movies. It is available via digital cable, IPTV, satellite television and Top Up TV platforms. The channel launched in 1995 in the UK a sister channel to the US Sci Fi Channel , with a similar...

and Sci-Fi Channel (US)
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...

during the 1990s; it is currently airing on NBC Universal
NBC Universal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...

's horror/suspense-themed cable channel Chiller
Chiller (TV channel)
Chiller is a 24-hour American cable and satellite television channel specializing in horror and suspense programming. conglomerate NBCUniversal.- Origin :...

.

An animated series, Ripley's Believe It or Not!, was produced for Fox Family
Fox Family
Fox Family may refer to:* The Fox Family, a 2006 South Korean film* Fox Family, a former name of American television cable network ABC Family...

in 1999 and followed the adventures of "Michael Ripley", Robert Ripley's nephew. The show was aimed at a younger audience, and would often feature Michael going around the world.

The most recent series based upon the comic strip, once again titled Ripley's Believe It or Not! debuted in 2000 on TBS. Hosted by actor Dean Cain
Dean Cain
Dean Cain is an American actor. He is most widely known for his role as Clark Kent/Superman in the popular American television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.-Early life:...

, executive-produced by Dan Jbara
Dan Jbara
Dan Jbara is a television and film producer whose career has primarily focused onthe reality television field in the U.S.. He also executive-produced the 2008short film thriller Trunk, starring Kyle Gallner and Zachery Bryan.-Early life and career:...

and co-executive-produced by Dennis Lortz, the series took a slightly more sensationalistic approach to its subject matter and "premiered as the highest-rated original series on cable" at that time. The series was cancelled in October 2003 after four seasons. Like the previous syndicated live-action series, this latest edition moved to the Biography Channel for reruns, and continues to air today.Outside of the U.S., re-runs of this 3rd series are still screening in countries such as Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, where the show is currently broadcast on the Australian version of the Sci-Fi Channel
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...

.

Philippines series

In 2006, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

made a local adaptation of Ripley's Believe it or Not! with a local host. ABC-5
Associated Broadcasting Company
The Associated Broadcasting Company, Inc is a television network in the Philippines, with main broadcast facilities and transmitter located at 762 Quirino Highway, San Bartolome, Novaliches, Quezon City. The network was previously known as the , Associated Broadcasting Company remains the legal...

(now known as TV5) was the first to make it with Raymond Bagatsing as host. The show however was short-lived.
In 2008, GMA Network
GMA Network
GMA Network is a major commercial television & radio network in the Philippines. GMA Network is owned by GMA Network, Inc. a publicly listed company...

bought the rights and revived Ripley's in the Philippines. This time Chris Tiu
Chris Tiu
Chris Tiu , is a Filipino professional basketball player of Chinese-Filipino descent. He currently plays for the Smart Gilas team and is also a TV host, commercial model, and politician.He is the host of the TV shows Man vs...

of the Ateneo Blue Eagles
Ateneo Blue Eagles
The Ateneo Blue Eagles is the name of the collegiate men's varsity basketball team of the Ateneo de Manila University that plays in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, the premiere sports league in the country. The collegiate women's varsity basketball team is called the Lady...

was chosen as host. It is part of the "Bilib Ka Ba? Nights" ("Do You Believe? Nights") Block of the Network which premiered August 18, 2008.

Internet and games

In 2006, the Ripleys.com website held a "Dear Mr. Ripley" contest in which contestants submitted "unbelievable" stories and with a public vote selecting a winner. The submissions included stories about a two-faced kitten, a car hurdler, a painting on human flesh canvas, a snake swallowing a golfball, an unopened deck of cards in a thin-necked bottle, a collector of Converse shoes with over 400 pairs, a man who survived a dumptruck falling on him, a painting made of nail polish, a child who played sports while hopping on a pogo stick
Pogo stick
A pogo stick is a device for jumping off the ground in a standing position with the aid of a spring, used as a toy or exercise equipment. It consists of a pole with a handle at the top and footrests near the bottom, and a spring located somewhere along the pole...

, and a tongue swallower. The winners were announced on December 15, 2006.

The point and click
Graphic adventure game
A graphic adventure game is a form of adventure game. They are distinct from text adventures. Whereas a player must actively observe using commands such as "look" in a text-based adventure, graphic adventures revolutionized gameplay by making use of natural human perception...

adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...

Ripley's Believe It or Not!: The Riddle of Master Lu
Ripley's Believe It or Not!: The Riddle of Master Lu
Ripley's Believe It or Not!: The Riddle of Master Lu is a point and click adventure game based on Robert Ripley, the creator of Ripley's Believe It or Not!. It was developed and published by Sanctuary Woods in 1995.-Story:...

was published and developed by Sanctuary Woods
Sanctuary Woods
Sanctuary Woods Multimedia, Inc. was a multimedia developer and third-party game publisher. It was one of the early multimedia companies developing products for CD-ROM distribution. The founders, Brian Beninger and Toni Beninger, were both experienced technologists who saw the potential for...

, and released in 1995.

Museums

When Ripley first displayed his collection to the public at the Chicago World's Fair

Century of Progress

A Century of Progress International Exposition was the name of a World's Fair held in Chicago from 1933 to 1934 to celebrate the city's centennial. The theme of the fair was technological innovation...

in 1933, it was labeled Ripley’s Odditorium and attracted over two million visitors during the run of the fair. (In an apparent promotional gimmick, beds were provided in the Odditorium for people who "fainted" daily.) That successful exhibition led to trailer shows across the country during the 1930s, and Ripley's collections were exhibited at many major fairs and expositions, including San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas and Cleveland. In New York

New York City

, the famed Times Square

Times Square

Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...

exhibit opened in 1939 on Broadway. In 1950, a year after Ripley's death, the first permanent Odditorium opened in St. Augustine, Florida

St. Augustine, Florida

St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...

.

As of December 2010, there are 32 Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditoriums around the world. Odditoriums, in the spirit of Believe It or Not!, are often more than simple museums cluttered with curiosities. Some include theaters and arcades, such as the ones in Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Gatlinburg is a mountain resort city in Sevier County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, Gatlinburg had a population of 3,828. The city is a popular vacation resort, as it rests on the border of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park along U.S...

and Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin

Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin

Wisconsin Dells is a city in south-central Wisconsin, with a population of 2,418 as of the 2000 census. It straddles four counties: Adams, Columbia, Juneau, and Sauk. The city takes its name from the dells of the Wisconsin River, a scenic, glacially formed gorge that features striking sandstone...

. Others are constructed oddly, such as the Orlando, Florida

Orlando, Florida

Odditorium which is built off-level as if the building is sinking.

United States

California

San Francisco – This Ripley's Museum is located near Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco
Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, California
Fisherman's Wharf is a neighborhood and popular tourist attraction in San Francisco, California. It roughly encompasses the northern waterfront area of San Francisco from Ghirardelli Square or Van Ness Avenue east to Pier 35 or Kearny Street...

.

Buena Park (closed) – This Ripley's Museum was located in Buena Park's E-Zone district on Beach Boulevard, close to Knott's Berry Farm
Knott's Berry Farm
Knott's Berry Farm is a theme park in Buena Park, California, now owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, and a line of jams, jellies, preserves, and other specialty food, now part of The J. M. Smucker Company based in Placentia, California....

. This is the location where Steve Sindad broke the world record for consuming ranch dressing, drinking 61 bottles worth (about 7 gallons). It closed its doors on March 30, 2009.

Hollywood – This Ripley's Museum is on Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...

.

Florida

St. Augustine – It is the oldest Ripley's Believe It or Not! and is located in the Castle Warden, was purchased shortly after his death in 1949 and opened in 1950. Prior to becoming home to his vast collections from his many travels, "The Castle", as it is known, was once a hotel which played host to many famous guests, including Ripley himself and author/owner Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was an American author who lived in rural Florida and wrote novels with rural themes and settings. Her best known work, The Yearling, about a boy who adopts an orphaned fawn, won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1939 and was later made into a movie, also known as The...

. It was originally a Moorish Revival style mansion, built in 1887 by millionaire William Warden as a winter home. It popularity and success led Ripley's associates to open new establishments throughout the United States and the world. Perhaps not surprisingly, it is also rumored to be haunted. Segments of the most recent Ripley's TV series were filmed here, including the opening credits. Among the attractions here are a mummified cat, a 1/12 scale model of the original Ferris wheel
Ferris wheel
A Ferris wheel is a nonbuilding structure consisting of a rotating upright wheel with passenger cars attached to the rim in such a way that as the wheel turns, the cars are kept upright, usually by gravity.Some of the largest and most modern Ferris wheels have cars mounted on...

made out of Erector sets, life and death masks of famous celebrities (including Abraham Lincoln), and shamanistic apparati from cultures around the world.

Panama City Beach – Opened in 2006, this Ripley's Museum is at the intersection of Front Beach Road, Middle Beach Road, and Thomas Drive on Panama City Beach and is designed to look like a 1950s luxury cruise liner that has run aground on the beach. It also has a moving 4-D theater.

Orlando – This museum is located on the busy International Drive
International Drive
International Drive is the main tourist strip of Orlando, Florida, located several miles southwest of proper Downtown Orlando in the southernmost limits of the city...

tourist corridor, and is built to appear as though it is dropping into a sinkhole
Sinkhole
A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone...

.

Key West – This Ripley's Museum is located on the famous Duval Street
Duval Street
Duval Street is a famous downtown commercial zoned street in Key West, Florida, running north and south from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. Duval Street is the location of many famous restaurants and bars, including Sloppy Joe's, Fogarty's Restaurant, Bar and Bakery and it's "The...

.

Maryland

Ocean City – This Ripley's Museum is located on the boardwalk at Wicomico Street. It is a popular destination for tourists and it sits at the entrance to Jolly Roger's Pier Amusement Park. It features a large model of a shark that appears as if it has crashed through the museum.

Missouri

Branson – This Ripley's museum looks like a stone edifice that was cracked by an earthquake.

New York

New York City – This had reopened in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

on 42nd Street
42nd Street (Manhattan)
42nd Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, known for its theaters, especially near the intersection with Broadway at Times Square. It is also the name of the region of the theater district near that intersection...

in July 2007.

Oregon

Newport – This Ripley's museum was funded by Jacob Walters and built in 1986. It is at the Historic Bayfront and one of three amusements known as Mariner Square. The other two are the Wax Works and the Undersea Gardens.

South Carolina

Myrtle Beach – This Ripley's museum looks like a building cracked by a hurricane. It features an animatronic band playing the song "Dragostea Din Tei
Dragostea din Tei
"Dragostea din tei" , also informally known as "The Numa Numa Song" , is the most successful single by the Moldovan pop group O-Zone, sung in Romanian. It shot to the number one spot on the Eurochart Hot 100, where it remained for 12 weeks between June and early September 2004...

," an optical effect where you feel like you are being flipped upside-down, and a collection of tombstones with strange engravings. It is at the corner of 9th Avenue and Ocean Boulevard. Ripley's has five other attractions in the area besides the museum: an aquarium, a moving-theater attraction, an arcade, a haunted house
Ripley's Haunted adventure
Ripley's Haunted Adventure is an attraction owned by Ripley Entertainment, known for its Ripley's Believe It or Not! franchise. It is in locations such as Gatlinburg, Tennessee; San Antonio, Texas and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.-External links:...

, and a house of mirrors.

Tennessee

Gatlinburg – The original museum, built in 1970, was destroyed by a massive fire caused by a faulty light fixture in a neighboring shop on July 14, 1992. It had to be completely rebuilt. Some of Ripley's most prized and unique possessions were consumed by the blaze. The current museum opened in 1994, with a tribute to the city's firefighters included among the collections. Artifacts salvaged from the blaze sport "I Survived The Fire" decals. It also has nearly twice the amount of exhibit space as the original. As with some other Ripley museums, it has a theme. It looks as if it has survived a major earthquake. Its interior and exterior feature cracks throughout, adhering to the theme. The Ripley's Company has since opened several other attractions in the area, including a "four-dimensional" theater, a state-of-the-art aquarium, a haunted factory, several arcades, two miniature golf courses, and a mirror maze all of which carry the Ripley's brand name and signature logo.

Texas

Grand Prairie – This Ripley’s Museum is located at 601 East Safari Parkway in Grand Prairie, Texas
Grand Prairie, Texas
Grand Prairie is a city in Dallas, Ellis, and Tarrant counties in the U.S. state of Texas and is a part of the Mid-Cities region in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Grand Prairie is a suburb of both Dallas and Fort Worth and had a population of 175,396 at the 2010 census.- History :The city of...

. It is west of downtown Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

on IH-30 and is on the northwest intersection of Belt Line Road and IH-30, 7 miles (11.3 km) east of Six Flags Over Texas
Six Flags Over Texas
Six Flags Over Texas is a major amusement park located in Arlington, Texas , east of Fort Worth and about west of Dallas. It is the oldest park of the Six Flags chain. The park opened on August 5, 1961 following just a year of construction and an initial investment of US$10 million by real estate...

.

San Antonio – This Ripley's Museum is located across from the historic Alamo
Alamo Mission in San Antonio
The Alamo, originally known as Mission San Antonio de Valero, is a former Roman Catholic mission and fortress compound, site of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, and now a museum, in San Antonio, Texas....

. In the same building is a wax museum, and just a short walk down the road is Ripley's Haunted Adventure.

El Paso - This Ripley's Museum is located at 7051 S Desert Blvd. in Canutillo, Texas
Canutillo, Texas
Canutillo is a census-designated place in El Paso County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,129 at the 2000 census. It is part of the El Paso Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Canutillo is located at ....

.

Virginia

Williamsburg – This Ripley's Museum opened in 2006. It has 11 galleries and over 300 exhibits. There is also a 4D theater that shows 3D movies with added effects (air, water, scent, etc.)

Wisconsin

Wisconsin Dells – This Ripley's museum looks like a plane flew through the front and has a car parked on the side. It is located in the Downtown Strip.

Canada

Niagara Falls, Ontario – This Ripley's museum is shaped like the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...

fallen over, with King Kong
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...

standing on top of it. This is the second oldest Ripley's Museum in the world and is one of two in Canada. Located across the street is a Ripley's 4D Moving Theatre, and up the street there is a Louis Tussauds Wax Works which is owned by Ripley's.

Cavendish, Prince Edward Island – This Ripley's museum is located in a concentrated area of tourist attractions adjacent to the Prince Edward Island National Park
Prince Edward Island National Park
Prince Edward Island National Park is a National Park located on Prince Edward Island. Situated along the island's north shore, fronting the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the park measures approximately 60 km in length and ranges from several hundred metres to several kilometres in width...

. It is Canada's other Ripley's attraction. A lighthouse (the top broken) features the Ripley's sign. The museum is adjoined to a wax museum and also features a mini-golf attraction.

Toronto, Ontario - An aquarium is being planned and built next to the CN Tower
CN Tower
The CN Tower is a communications and observation tower in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Standing tall, it was completed in 1976, becoming the world's tallest free-standing structure and world's tallest tower at the time. It held both records for 34 years until the completion of the Burj...

and Metro Toronto Convention Centre
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
Metro Toronto Convention Centre , located in Downtown Toronto, Ontario at 255 Front Street West, has of space. The convention centre was completed in October 1984 and is home to the 1330-seat John Bassett Theatre...

. The 150000 square feet (13,935.5 m²) structure will boast the longest underwater tunnel in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

and is scheduled to open in 2013.

United Kingdom

London – This Ripley's museum is the world's largest and it opened on August 20, 2008 at the London Pavilion
London Pavilion
The London Pavilion is a building located on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue and Coventry Street on the north-east side of, and facing, Piccadilly Circus in London...

, 1 Piccadilly Circus
Piccadilly Circus
Piccadilly Circus is a road junction and public space of London's West End in the City of Westminster, built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly...

. It houses over 500 exhibits from educational artifacts to the truly weird and wonderful. It is famed for its large collection of Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....

personal belongings and interactive exhibits.
Blackpool – This Ripley's museum was the first and it is based in the popular holiday destination of Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...

.
Great Yarmouth (closed) – There was an Odditorium in Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...

on the east coast of England. It opened in 1993 and closed in 1997. It is now an indoor miniature golf
Miniature golf
Miniature golf, or minigolf, is a miniature version of the sport of golf. While the international sports organization World Minigolf Sport Federation prefers to use the name "minigolf", the general public in different countries has also many other names for the game: miniature golf, mini-golf,...

course that uses some of the leftovers from the Odditorium as scenery for the holes.

Asia

Bangalore, India – This Ripley's Museum is at the Innovative Filmcity.

Jakarta, Indonesia (closed)- This Ripley's museum was located in Pondok Indah Mall
Pondok Indah Mall
Pondok Indah Mall is a large shopping complex located in wealthy Pondok Indah suburb of South Jakarta, Indonesia. The Pondok Indah Mall, or referred to by Jakartans by its acronym: "PIM" complex: is actually two large malls, the older 3-storey PIM1 and the newer 5-storey PIM2, interconnected via a...

Jeju Island, South Korea - This Ripley’s museum is located at the Jeju Jungmun resort.

Pattaya, Thailand – This Ripley's museum is in Royal Garden Plaza
Royal Garden Plaza
Royal Garden Plaza is an indoor shopping mall in Pattaya, a holiday resort in Thailand. It is located between Beach Road and Second Road. It is three stories high and has an underground car park. It is adjacent to the Pattaya Marriott Resort and Spa....

in Pattaya
Pattaya
Pattaya is a city in Thailand, located on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about 165 km southeast of Bangkok located within but not part of Amphoe Bang Lamung in the province of Chonburi....

.
It appears as if an airplane has crashed into it.

Genting Highlands, Malaysia – This Ripley's museum is inside the First World Plaza
First World Plaza
First World Plaza is a shopping centre located below First World Hotel, the biggest hotel in Genting Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia. It comprises the hotel lobby for First World Hotel....

.

Kuwait City, Kuwait (closed)– This Ripley's museum was located in the Hadiqat Al Sheaab Amusement Park.

Mandaluyong City, Philippines (closed) – This Ripley's museum was in the Shangri-La Mall in Ortigas.

Victoria Peak, Hong Kong (closed) – There was an Odditorium in The Peak.

Mexico

Guadalajara – Opened recently, this Ripley's museum a small one like Mexico City's location. It is near downtown.
Mexico City – Opened in 1992, this Ripley's museum is shaped like a medieval castle and has 14 exhibition halls within it. This was the first of three locations to open in Latin America.

Denmark

Copenhagen – This Ripley's museum is a smaller one located close to the city hall and next to the one of Jacob McCartney Walters.

Australia

Gold Coast – This Ripley's museum is located at the popular tourist destination Surfers Paradise. It reopened in the new Soul Centre on January 22, 2010, featuring a band of human oddities playing songs at the entrance.

Inaccuracies

Authorities at the company insist that they thoroughly investigate everything and ensure their accuracy before they publish their research. This is emphasized on their television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

show, where they often say "If you see it on Ripley's, you can bet that it's real". However, two myths dispelled by MythBusters

MythBusters

MythBusters is a science entertainment TV program created and produced by Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The series is screened by numerous international broadcasters, including Discovery Channel Australia, Discovery Channel Latin America, Discovery Channel Canada, Quest...

using the scientific method

Scientific method

Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of...

have appeared in their books. One myth dispelled by Snopes had previously appeared in Ripley's books. If one sends a letter questioning an inaccuracy they will receive a card that says "Believe It or Not!"

External links

Ripley's London
Ripley's Believe It or Not! current daily/Sunday syndicated panel
Ripley Entertainment, Inc.
Inventory of the Doug and Hazel Anderson Storer Collection, 1920s–2003, in the Southern Historical Collection
Southern Historical Collection
The Southern Historical Collection is a repository of distinct archival collections at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill which document the culture and history of the American South...

, UNC-Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...

rtoonist Society Award, 1976: Paul Frehm]
Toonopedia: Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Ripley's Believe It or Not! True War Stories – The Last Kamikaze
Ripley Publishing
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum - Jeju Island, South Korea

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Syndicated feature panel

Books

Radio

Films, television, internet and computer game

Film

Television

Philippines series

Internet and games

Museums

United States

California

Florida

Maryland

Missouri

New York

Oregon

South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

Virginia

Wisconsin

Canada

United Kingdom

Asia

Mexico

Denmark

Australia

Inaccuracies

See also

External links