Ripley Entertainment Inc.'s Blog, page 144
May 22, 2021
May 21, 2021
Space-Aged Wine Set to Sell For $1 Million
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
[May 17–May 23, 2021] Neanderthal skulls, fraud gone wrong, and a family hair-loom—all round-up in this week’s weird news from Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
Rare Rhyolite Discovered After App Identifies Rock as RadioactiveAn Oregon construction worker with a keen eye and a handy app discovered a rare 2,000-pound rock carried to the state on a glacier 15,000 years ago.
Jacob Parker was working at the site of a new school in Lake Oswego when he noticed an interesting-looking rock that the crew had excavated. He pulled out his rock identifying app and took a quick pic to find out what was so special about it, only to be informed that it may be radioactive!
Parker immediately called Portland State University geologist Scott Burns to check it out. As it so happens, the rock was not radioactive, but instead turned out to be a large chunk of extremely rare rhyolite—the second piece ever found in the state!
The rock has been classified as an “ice-rafted glacial erratic,” meaning it likely landed in the area as part of a glacier carried down from Montana or Canada during the Missoula Floods around 15,000 years ago.
Italian Cave Holds Secrets to Neanderthal History
The rock is known as rhyolite and is created by layers of cooling lava, usually from close to the earth’s surface. https://t.co/y8wfAdyzjj
— News 10 (@KTVL) May 18, 2021
Italy’s Guattari Cave is now considered the most important site for Neanderthal history after archaeologists discovered the gnawed and burned remains of nine bodies that are up to 100,000 years old!
Located near the resort town of San Felice Circeo, the area surrounding Guattari Cave has been suspected of having once been home to a considerable population of Neanderthals since archaeologists uncovered a well-preserved skull in 1939, shortly after the discovery of the cave itself.
The most recent findings include the remains of eight Neanderthals dating back 50,000 to 60,000 years, another one from 90,000 to 100,000 years ago, as well as hundreds of bones that once belonged to a pack of hyenas, several elephants, rhinos, giant deer, and a now-extinct bovine called aurochs.
“It is an extraordinary discovery,” said Italy’s cultural minister, Dario Franceschini. “The whole world will be talking about it.”
Some of the discovered Neanderthal bones were gnawed on or burned. While hyenas most likely chomped on the chewed-up bones, the burns, along with ventilation holes in the cave ceiling, suggest to some anthropologists that the Neanderthals may have been engaging in ritual cannibalism.
Excavation of the now-historical site will continue as researchers hope to learn more about the Neanderthal society, including what part ancient climate change played in their demise.
Maine Police Chief Risks It All to Ditch A Meeting
Italy • Lair Discovered Where Ancient Hyenas Feasted on Their Neanderthal Prey – Over Perhaps 50,000 Year Span | Bones Date To 100,000-50,000 Years Ago | via @ScienceAlert | May 2021 https://t.co/95CMrFyP8j pic.twitter.com/IYj937r0bR
— neuro.social.self (@neurosocialself) May 19, 2021
In a world of meetings that could have been emails, one Maine police chief pulled out all the stops to avoid attending a board meeting, eventually losing his license for committing fraud in the process.
Former Maine Police Chief Joshua Potvin was not feeling up to attending the February 2020 Fryeburg Board of Selectmen meeting, but rather than claim illness or a family emergency, he decided to write up a false suspicious person report as an excuse to skip out.
After texting one of his officers requesting a call out from the meeting, the police chief of six years launched a multi-level scheme that was much more complicated and time-consuming than just attending the gathering.
Potvin drove his cruiser to the Fryeburg Fairgrounds and used the cruiser computer to craft a false entry into the dispatch system, explaining that he was there in response to reports of a suspicious person. In what we can only guess was an attempt to validate his presence, he entered a fairground employee’s license plate into the bogus report.
The Maine Criminal Justice Academy got wind of the situation and launched an investigation into the report. Though Potvin waived his right of appeal and resigned from the position last year, it was revealed this week that the Academy officially revoked his license, barring Potvin from working in Maine law enforcement for good.
And with that, he will never have to attend another meeting again.
Michigan Woman Donates 60-Year-Old Hair-loom to Charity
Former Fryeburg Police Chief Joshua Potvin created a fake entry on a report of a suspicious person. https://t.co/rjO5B7Fqu3
— NEWS CENTER Maine (@newscentermaine) May 14, 2021
A Michigan woman put an odd family heirloom to good use this week when she donated 60-year-old braids to an organization that makes wigs for kids suffering from medical hair loss.
Janet Guinter, of Lansing, Michigan, was only 12 years old when her aunt, who had the same hair color as she does, gifted her some perfectly woven braids to use “in creative hairstyles.”
Though Guinter never ended up playing hairstylist with the braids, she did keep the locks wrapped for almost 60 years, until one day two years ago when her neighbor passed away, and she watched as all of his belongings were thrown away.
The event put Guinter into research mode, as she figured someone may find the braids one day, and she didn’t want them to end up in the trash.
Ultimately, she discovered Children With Hair Loss, a Detroit-based charity that uses donations of hair 8-inches or longer to make wigs for children who have lost their hair for medical reasons.
Space-Aged Wine Set to Sell For $1 MillionTwo bottles of Petrus 2000 wine that spent over a year on the International Space Station are expected to sell for $1 million at Christie’s Auction House.
The bottles were shipped to space along with ten others back in 2019 and spent 440 days in orbit before being grounded back to Earth.
Upon their return, a group of sommeliers and scientists gathered to find out just how good “out-of-this-world” wine would taste. As it turns out, the space wine had developed a unique flavor profile with enhanced floral and smoky flavors.
The auction winner will receive two bottles of the wine for comparison along with “a decanter, glasses, and a corkscrew made from a meteorite.”
Proceeds from the auction will go directly toward “future space missions and wine research.” Cheers to that!
Photo via Christie’s Auction House
By Meghan Yani, contributor for Ripleys.com
EXPLORE THE ODD IN PERSON! Discover hundreds of strange and unusual artifacts and get hands-on with unbelievable interactives when you visit a Ripley’s Odditorium!
May 20, 2021
May 19, 2021
Kitbashed Blaster: How Han Solo’s Iconic Weapon Was Made
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
[image error]
Up Close & Peculiar More than 100 years ago, the globetrotting Robert Ripley began collecting artifacts from his journeys around the world, which today form the heart of the greatest collection of oddities ever assembled. Up Close & Peculiar brings the curious history of these pieces to a personal level as our Exhibits Buyer, Kurtis Moellmann, explores the strange relics that lie within our Warehouse walls! Become a part of the story as we share pieces for every history buff, pop culture junkie, and oddities collector alike.Today: Han Solo’s Blaster®
Our most expensive Star Wars® purchase yet, Han Solo’s blaster was featured in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi™ and is from the collection of James Schoppe, the Art Director for the film. The base of the clumsy weapon is a German Mauser C96 pistol and the accouterments are, what many call, kitbashed: a process used to create a new scale model by taking pieces out of commercial kits. By the time people started to catch on to the kitbash trend and were well aware that Han’s blaster was modeled off the real C96, the availability of this firearm in the antique gun market became very hard to come by. What directors could get their hands on was a Japanese model cap gun from the same time period. Directors used this new model to create blasters in future Star Wars® films.
EXPLORE THE ODD IN PERSON! Discover hundreds of strange and unusual artifacts like this one, and get hands-on with unbelievable interactives when you visit a Ripley’s Odditorium!Source: Kitbashed Blaster: How Han Solo’s Iconic Weapon Was Made
Celebrating André The Giant’s Life Of Epic Proportions
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
André the Giant is one of the most famous names in wrestling: a giant both in stature and in personality. Had he still been alive today, he would be celebrating his 75th birthday on May 19, 2021. Unfortunately, André died in middle age due to complications related to his enormous proportions.
Though André passed away nearly three decades ago, his indomitable spirit and legacy live on. This larger-than-life figure left an imprint on the world that won’t be forgotten anytime soon, even when those who knew him personally are long gone.
While you may know the basic facts about André, you may not know how he handled living in a world designed for regular-sized folk. Check out some fascinating facts about this gentle giant below.
His fingers were so wide that he could fit a silver dollar inside his rings.One trait that really caught people’s attention was the size of André’s hands. They were long, wide, and simply enormous. Similar to his feet, André’s hands were so thick that they almost looked like paws. His fingers were so big around that the ring he wore had an opening that could easily fit a silver dollar, which is 38.1 mm. To put the size into perspective, an average man’s finger is about 10-11 mm around.
André, who was reportedly 7’4” tall at his prime and weighed as much as 520 pounds, had gigantism due to his pituitary gland producing too much growth hormone, and he later developed acromegaly. People with gigantism have very big hands and feet (he wore a size 24 shoe), thick toes and fingers, a prominent jaw and forehead, and coarse facial features.
[image error]
He struggled to fit through doorways, and his mother had furniture made especially for him so he felt comfortable at home.Born André René Roussimoff in Moliens, France, André’s parents were immigrants. His father, Boris, was Bulgarian, while his mother, Marianne, was Polish. During the filming of “André the Giant” on HBO, director Jason Hehir visited the wrestler’s hometown and was able to see the house where he grew up. As you might imagine, it wasn’t have been easy for André to live in a home built for normal-sized people. As a result, his family did their best to make accommodations for the young man.
In addition to photos and memorabilia, Hehir was able to take a look at the huge chair that André’s mother made for her son. “André the Giant is a mythical character, but André Roussimoff is a mother’s son, and she wanted him to be comfortable when he came home,” Hehir told Business Insider. “She had that made for him. He was still her baby though he could barely fit through the door.”
Famous French playwright Samuel Beckett occasionally drove André to school.For years a legend has circulated that 12-year-old André—who was 6’3” and over 200 pounds at the time—would hitch a ride to school with famous playwright Samuel Beckett on the back of his truck because the school bus was too small. Even André told the tale, which eventually became an off-Broadway play. But according to one of André’s brothers, that’s not exactly how things went down.
While André and Beckett were indeed neighbors, the town did not have a school bus, so André had to walk two kilometers to the center of town every day. However, if Beckett happened to be driving by André and other children as they traveled to or from class, he generously let them hop in the bed of his truck for the short drive. Beckett and André, however, didn’t have a special bond or unique relationship, which people have been led to believe for years. They occasionally talked about their shared love of cricket, but not much else.
André could eat 12 steaks and 15 lobsters in one sitting.André’s eating and drinking exploits are legendary. Wrestler Mike Graham once claimed his friend drank 156 beers during one night out, and Graham’s “Legends of Wrestling” co-panelists corroborated the story. Journalist Bill Apter also recalled seeing André down over 125 beers when they hung out in New Orleans together.
Though it’s tough to prove these types of claims, over the years many friends and colleagues told similar tales, so it seems plausible.
“He could drink an airplane dry before it got to takeoff,” White explained. “He’d go into a restaurant and eat 12 steaks and 15 lobsters. He didn’t do that often, but if he felt like putting on a show and having some laughs, he’d go ahead and do that.”
However, his typical meals were not so lavish, and he usually only consumed about twice what the average man eats during a typical breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
As a young boy, André had big dreams that his father tried to dampen. While working alongside his father, Boris, André once took notice of a Rolls-Royce driving by. He claimed that one day, he would own one of the luxury vehicles himself, but his father chided him for having unrealistic expectations.
Two years later, at age 14, André was tired of farm life and decided to leave his family and hometown to make a different kind of living. He wanted to travel, meet new people, and be successful.
He returned five years later and looked shockingly different. When his mother answered a knock at the door, she was greeted by a gigantic man with an even bigger smile on his face. When André asked to see the man of the house, Marianne called for Boris, and the two were still unaware of their own son’s presence on their doorstep.
André even gestured to his very own Rolls-Royce parked behind him, and yet Marianne and Boris still had yet to bat an eye. His mother eventually recognized him as wrestler Jean Ferrè (his stage name) before Boris realized that their son had returned home after several years of starting a new career.
A jokester at heart, André loved to play pranks on his friends.Fellow wrestler Frank Valois got to know André when he first started competing, and he was very impressed by the young man’s strength as well as his charisma and penchant for having a good time. André transformed from a poor country boy to a man who traveled all over the world, socialized with all kinds of people, and had a great time enjoying life.
In his 20s, André was tall, strong, and intimidating to people both in and out of the ring. And when he wasn’t channeling his energy during competition, he did so in other creative ways.
[image error]
At one point, André figured out he had the ability to move small cars without any assistance. And by “move,” he could completely relocate the vehicle. He thought it would be funny to play pranks on his friends while they were inside a bar or at a restaurant. Sometimes André would move their vehicles into really tight spots between a lamppost or building, or he would simply reverse their direction. It wasn’t about proving his strength, according to Valois. It was about teasing his pals.
André was grateful for his life but also wished to be a regular-sized man.Due to his condition, André was likely aware that he would not reach old age. When successfully treated, some people with gigantism can live a normal lifespan. Yet, André refused medical intervention in the 1980s because he believed God made him that way for a reason. He lived a full life after leaving home and was happy with the friends he made and the places he’d seen.
However, he also acknowledged the difficulties that went with being so large. Even simple activities like riding in a car caused pain between his neck, back, and shoulders. Plus, he was constantly grilled by fans about his height, weight, and other personal matters. While he was generally polite and wanted to please those around him, he was also a little melancholy.
“I would give much money to be able to spend one day per week as a man of regular size,” he once admitted. “I would shop, and I would go to the cinema, and drive around in a sports car and walk down Fifth Avenue and stare at the other people for a change.”
[image error]
Following his death, Paris’s crematoriums couldn’t handle his large body, and his ashes weighed 17 pounds.
André died in his sleep on Jan. 27, 1993, in the Hotel De La Tremoille in Paris at the age of 46. He arrived in the city two days earlier to attend his father’s funeral. André’s cause of death was congestive heart failure, which is not surprising as people with acromegaly commonly experience organ deterioration over time.
André wanted to be cremated, but local crematoriums in Paris were unable to accommodate a body so large, so it was flown to the United States. His cremated ashes weighed 17 pounds, and friend and former referee Frenchy Bernard scattered them while riding horseback on the 46-acre Roussimoff family ranch in Ellerbe, North Carolina. Hulk Hogan delivered the eulogy.
If you visit Ellerbe today, the Rankin Museum of American Heritage pays homage to André with a special collection that includes his giant wrestling boots and other memorabilia.
By Noelle Talmon, contributor for Ripleys.com
EXPLORE THE ODD IN PERSON! Discover hundreds of strange and unusual artifacts and get hands-on with unbelievable interactives when you visit a Ripley’s Odditorium!Source: Celebrating André The Giant’s Life Of Epic Proportions
May 18, 2021
Clara Glen Pet Cemetery: One Of America’s Oldest Postmortem Menageries
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Nestled among the pristine lawns of suburban homes in Linwood, New Jersey, is one of the nation’s oldest pet cemeteries. Established more than 100 years ago by Clara and Glen White, the Clara Glen Pet Cemetery is the final resting place of nearly 4,000 beloved pets.
The South Jersey couple was a match made in animal-lover heaven. And as a result of their undying love—not only each other, but their many, many pets—they were on the hunt for the perfect final resting place to accommodate their 45 dogs, dozens of cats, and over 300 rabbits. To no surprise, they were unable to find such a cemetery for their four-legged family members. So, the Whites decided to create a pet cemetery in their own backyard.
The couple offered additional burial services as well, including handmade coffins, embalming, grooming, and portraits of the deceased pets. These Victorian-inspired pet portraits are now owned by the local Linwood Historical Society.
News of their pet cemetery and services spread like wildfire and soon celebrities from near and far were burying their furry friends at Clara Glen, including Billie Burke, Irving Berlin, and Eddie Cantor.
One of Clara Glen Pet Cemetery’s most famous residents is Rex the Wonder Dog. Rex was a regular performer at Atlantic City’s acclaimed Steel Pier during the 1930s and 40s. He was an avid canine water-skier and stood atop an aquaplane that was pulled behind a boat. Rex’s most well-known skiing partner was Arnette Webster French. French rode the controversial, yet celebrated, diving horses and was the sister of Sonora Webster Carver, another avid equestrian whose life inspired the 1991 Disney movie, Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken.
Other noteworthy animals buried at the cemetery include the ring-eyed Petey of Our Gang, Paradiddle Ben, whose tombstone resembles an old-school curtained theater, and an Atlantic City bartender’s dog whose funeral was rumored to attract more than 20 limos. One of the Steel Pier’s diving horses and a monkey are fabled to be buried at Clara Glen, as well.
[image error]
Today, no more monkeys, horses, or celebrity dogs are added to the famed list of headstones at Clara Glen Pet Cemetery. The only new-entry exception is the occasional Atlantic City K-9 joining its pack of fellow police dogs in a special burial plot near the back of the facility.
The cemetery is cared for by the Linwood Historical Society and can be found at the end of a neighborhood cul-de-sac. Despite its initial gloom, Clara Glenn Pet Cemetery is a lovely tribute and resting place for thousands of household pets and adored animals.
By Stephanie Weaver, contributor for Ripleys.com
EXPLORE THE ODD IN PERSON! Discover hundreds of strange and unusual artifacts and get hands-on with unbelievable interactives when you visit a Ripley’s Odditorium!Source: Clara Glen Pet Cemetery: One Of America’s Oldest Postmortem Menageries
May 17, 2021
How Christina Hunger Taught Her Dog Stella To Talk
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
[image error]
Adding a four-legged family member to any home is sure to be a day that fur moms and dads will never forget. For Christina Hunger, author of How Stella Learned To Talk, the experience wasn’t much different.
Like any new pet mom, she expected her life with a puppy to change in all the usual ways. She writes, “I expected to play with Stella, and to cuddle her. I expected to go for more walks, to watch her grow, to care for her.” What Christina didn’t expect was the overwhelming love and support she received from thousands of followers and fans when she taught her Blue Heeler/Catahoula mix puppy, Stella, to communicate with her.
[image error]
As a trained speech-language pathologist, Christina used her knowledge in augmentative communication to bridge the gap between Stella’s tendencies and those of her young patients with delays in language development. Through her work with non-verbal children, Christina used Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices to help her patients say words in a different way.
To an average dog owner, it’s evident that our canine friends gain an understanding of basic terminology or commands: sit, speak, shake, rollover. Christina wondered whether dogs might be able to understand and communicate these commands in the same way as her students: using AAC devices. She put her knowledge and theory to the test and came up with a way for Stella to use this tool to speak to her as well.
[image error]
What Christina created was a board of buttons, accessible by paw, labeled with various words, commands, and phrases that she and Stella use on a daily basis. Christina teaches Stella how to use each button and what it means through demonstration. By pushing, “belly” and “scratch,” and following with a nice tummy rub for Stella, she learns what each word on the board coincides with each action.
With time, Stella has learned to rely on her buttons to communicate basic life needs like, “outside,” “eat,” and “water.” She learned to tell Christina that she wanted to “walk” or “play,” and even ask Christina for “help.” And, as if we didn’t deserve dogs already, she often uses the “love you” button to give Christina a little puppy love throughout her day.
Today, Stella has a bank of more than 40 words and uses them in combinations or sequences to create near-complete sentences. Instead of “outside,” Stella tells Christina, “come outside now.”
[image error]
Christina has proven that our dogs do have the skills and knowledge to communicate with their human counterparts. They can engage in complex, meaningful conversations if given the proper tools to do so! In her book, Christina outlines the techniques she used to teach Stella this means of communication and encourages other dog owners to do the same.
The relationship between Stella and Christina has become a viral internet sensation, a best-selling book, and an inspiration for pet owners everywhere to build a relationship and become more connected with their dogs. While all animals certainly bring to our lives, there’s certainly a special bond between human and dog. “My dog just invited me to come play with her,” Christina writes, “How special is that?”
EXPLORE THE ODD IN PERSON! Discover hundreds of strange and unusual artifacts and get hands-on with unbelievable interactives when you visit a Ripley’s Odditorium!Ripley Entertainment Inc.'s Blog
- Ripley Entertainment Inc.'s profile
- 52 followers
