Ripley Entertainment Inc.'s Blog, page 227
January 8, 2020
Sealand: The World’s Tiniest Country
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Sealand
The Principality of Sealand has sat off the British coast for over 50 years. Though it is largely unrecognized throughout the world, it claims to be the smallest country in the world. The “island” measures just 15 by 40 yards, with just enough room for a small building and helicopter landing pad.
Origins
At the height of World War II, the British military installed open-sea fortresses in the mouth of the Thames River. These forts provided anti-aircraft support and deterred German crafts from laying mines in British shipping channels.
The fort Sealand now occupies was designated HM Fort Roughs. Constructed at port, these structures were floated out to sea on hollow pontoons. Once they reached their destination, the pontoons were filled with water, sinking to the seafloor and anchoring the fort in place. The Sealand structure was in operation within 30 minutes of being launched. Soldiers remained in the fort until 1956, when the fort was virtually abandoned by the British.
CC Chris 73
Pirate Radio
In the face of stringent broadcasting laws, pirate radio stations began operating from international waters. Fort Roughs was the perfect candidate for a pirate radio station; it was just far away, and—most importantly—was free to use. In 1966, pirate radio operator Roy Bates seized the radio tower from another pirate operator. In the ensuing crackdown on pirate broadcasters, Bates’s team would defend the station with firearms and bombs.
After dodging charges in British courts, he declared the sea fortress to be his own independent country: the Principality of Sealand.
A Micro-Nation
By 1975, Sealand had its own flag, currency, national anthem, passports, and government. Bates installed his family as royalty and sells titles online. You can be a Duke, Countess, or Knight of Sealand for a small fee.
The Bates family has ended up back in the courts on several occasions but continues to be largely left alone by the authorities. Though they haven’t been officially recognized worldwide, they have been made an exception in the expansion of British territory and from answering to British laws.
Mutiny
In 1978, Alexander Achenbach led an invasion of Sealand. He hired a team of mercenaries to storm the platform, taking it by using speedboats, jet skis, and helicopters. They took Bates’s son, Prince Michael hostage, but Michael was able to drive them off. Achenbach was taken prisoner and charged with insurrection. Dutch and German state departments got involved, and though he was sentenced to a $35,000 fine, he was eventually released. The Sealand Rebel Government operates to this day in exile, campaigning against the Bates family rule.
Everyone who helped defend the nation was inducted into the Sealand order of knights—a title you now buy—and was sworn to protect Sealand when called upon.
The Nation Today
Nowadays, Seland pops up in the news every once in a while. Rumors have spread about it being sold to internet companies or other would-be Kings, but besides the short visit or music video shoot, the island solemnly stands as a steadfast bastion against authority and beacon of independence.
CC Ryan Lackey
This Pet Crayfish Can Clone Itself
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
The marbled crayfish is a wonder of nature. This insect-like sea creature is unnaturally hardy, was born out of the pet industry, and—strangest of all—it can clone itself, unlike any other species of crayfish.
Some aquarium enthusiasts keep crayfish, also known as crawfish, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, and mudbugs, as pets in home aquariums. They are relatively easy to keep and come in a variety of colors. One day in the 1990s, possibly in an aquarium in Germany, something strange happened.
Normally, a crayfish gets one set of chromosomes from its mother and one from its father, just like humans. However, one crayfish was born with two sets of chromosomes in its reproductive cells, so the offspring got one set from one parent and two from the other parents. The result was a female crayfish that was “triploid,” meaning it had three sets of chromosomes.
Typically, such duplication would result in serious health issues for the animal. However, for odd some reason, the resulting creature was strong and not prone to illness. Her extra chromosomes also made her able to reproduce without a male—making hundreds of clones of herself. In turn, those clones could clone themselves, and so on, forever. Researchers at the German Cancer Research Center later published a paper on the bizarre behavior and rapid spread of the marbled crayfish, also known as marmokrebs.
Photo courtesy of Sina Tönges, DKFZ
This super-power is fascinating to observe for pet owners and biologists. However, it’s concerning for conservationists.
The issue started in the pet industry. Although it’s hard to pin down the exact first time a marbled crayfish was born, one hobbyist may have had some of the first of the species. He noticed how big his pet was, and how she laid so many eggs in comparison to the other crayfish pets people had. He started giving away the offspring to his friends, who were puzzled by the creatures. They would all lay lots of eggs without even mating. Soon, the pet-owners dumped their surplus crayfish in waterways.
It’s usually a bad idea to dump your pet in the wild. It either won’t survive because it’s not used to hunting or escaping predators, or it may take over the ecosystem as an invasive species. The crayfish lived, thrived, and reproduced like wild. Now there are populations of marbled crayfish all over Europe!
The population of these animals is exploding, but there is a reason that so few animals reproduce by self-cloning. Since all of their DNA is identical, one change in the environment, or one disease, could wipe out all of them. Will that happen, or will the marbled crayfish live on and take over the world?
By Kristin Hugo, contributor for Ripleys.com
Kristin Hugo is a science journalist with writing in National Geographic, Newsweek, and PBS Newshour. She’s especially experienced in covering animals, bones, and anything weird or gross. When not writing, Kristin is spray painting and cleaning bones in her New York City yard. Find her on Twitter at @KristinHugo , Tumblr at @StrangeBiology , and Instagram at @thestrangebiology .
January 7, 2020
To Infinity And Bordeaux: Space Wine
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Gazing into the star-speckled galaxy makes you wonder: what is going on up there? Well, as of November 2019, twelve bottles of Bordeaux are aging in the International Space Station!
To Boldly Go
Space travel can have profound effects on the human body. The rigorous tests that astronauts are put through to ensure peak physical fitness are conducted for a reason. As NASA has reported, being subjected to microgravity can cause astronauts to, temporarily, gain up to two inches of height due to the lack of gravity that usually presses on the vertebrae of our spines!
And while we have evidence to prove the physical changes of space on the human body, there are still many intergalactic effects we have yet to observe. A new experiment is underway to give us answers to a question we never knew we had—how does this unique environment impact the aging of wine?
Space Cargo Unlimited, a company that charters pressurized spaceships with return capacity, are determined to discover what happens to wine as it ages in space. In November 2019, a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS) departed from Wallops Island, Virginia. It took around two days to reach its destination, and 12 bottles of Bordeaux arrived unharmed and packaged in insulated metal capsules.
Astro-Agriculture
Wine is a chemically-complex liquid and it’s the interaction between these chemical components—and the influence of this unpredictable environment—that will be key to understanding agricultural possibilities in space.
Based on what we already know about what the time spent in space will do to living beings, there’s a chance that, over time, there will be visible differences in the dozen bottles of Bordeaux currently in space. NASA has reported some effects present amongst human space travelers such as an accelerated loss of strength and muscle mass, and the weakening of the immune system, which happens gradually during the natural aging process here on Earth. There’s a chance that this increased development can be seen in the wine, once it’s returned to our planet, as well. But, until then, it’s too soon to tell whether the experiment will prove anything conclusive or if results will lead to breakthroughs that benefit the future of space agriculture.
Aging Gracefully
The purpose of aging wine is to bring out the unique bouquet of flavors through the changing levels of acids and tannins (phenolic compounds that give the wine a bitter, dry, or pucker-feeling in your mouth). Different wines age for varying spans of time here on Earth, but the curious climate of space poses new challenges to the aging process.
The weather has a huge impact on how spirits age. Burgundy, France, boasts cool weather, which ages its White Burgundy wine with a stronger acidity than it would have in a warmer climate. Particular vintages are so heavily affected that experts consider the weather during growing periods when determining the optimal aging duration for a given wine—which is why a separate batch of Bordeaux bottles waits here on Earth to act as the control group in this intoxicating experiment.
Both batches will remain untouched for a whole year, kept at an optimal 64.4°F (18°C), before being sent back to Earth in November 2020 for thorough investigations and comparisons. This research will take place at the University Of Bordeaux, France.
Researchers believe that aging in the unique environment of space may have a positive impact on the wine and that this investigation could influence the future of humanity’s access to food and drink.
The Final Frontier?
The Bordeaux project is to be followed up by similar research, including an endeavor to send grapevines to the ISS to study their growth. Through this effort, we may gain insight into methods of developing plants that thrive in difficult climates.
In the meantime, the bottles will serve as an incredibly exclusive collector’s item. Sponsors of the project will be eligible for special gift packages, containing a number of items that have embarked on space voyages. Of course, a bottle of the Bordeaux will be nestled among them!
By Chris Littlechild, contributor for Ripleys.com
To Infinity and Bordeaux: Space Wine
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Gazing into the star-speckled galaxy makes you wonder: what is going on up there? Well, as of November 2019, twelve bottles of Bordeaux are aging in the International Space Station!
To Boldly Go
Space travel can have profound effects on the human body. The rigorous tests that astronauts are put through to ensure peak physical fitness are conducted for a reason. As NASA has reported, being subjected to microgravity can cause astronauts to, temporarily, gain up to two inches of height due to the lack of gravity that usually presses on the vertebrae of our spines!
And while we have evidence to prove the physical changes of space on the human body, there are still many intergalactic effects we have yet to observe. A new experiment is underway to give us answers to a question we never knew we had—how does this unique environment impact the aging of wine?
Space Cargo Unlimited, a company that charters pressurized spaceships with return capacity, are determined to discover what happens to wine as it ages in space. In November 2019, a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS) departed from Wallops Island, Virginia. It took around two days to reach its destination, and 12 bottles of Bordeaux arrived unharmed and packaged in insulated metal capsules.
Astro-Agriculture
Wine is a chemically-complex liquid and it’s the interaction between these chemical components—and the influence of this unpredictable environment—that will be key to understanding agricultural possibilities in space.
Based on what we already know about what the time spent in space will do to living beings, there’s a chance that, over time, there will be visible differences in the dozen bottles of Bordeaux currently in space. NASA has reported some effects present amongst human space travelers such as an accelerated loss of strength and muscle mass, and the weakening of the immune system, which happens gradually during the natural aging process here on Earth. There’s a chance that this increased development can be seen in the wine, once it’s returned to our planet, as well. But, until then, it’s too soon to tell whether the experiment will prove anything conclusive or if results will lead to breakthroughs that benefit the future of space agriculture.
Aging Gracefully
The purpose of aging wine is to bring out the unique bouquet of flavors through the changing levels of acids and tannins (phenolic compounds that give the wine a bitter, dry, or pucker-feeling in your mouth). Different wines age for varying spans of time here on Earth, but the curious climate of space poses new challenges to the aging process.
The weather has a huge impact on how spirits age. Burgundy, France, boasts cool weather, which ages its White Burgundy wine with a stronger acidity than it would have in a warmer climate. Particular vintages are so heavily affected that experts consider the weather during growing periods when determining the optimal aging duration for a given wine—which is why a separate batch of Bordeaux bottles waits here on Earth to act as the control group in this intoxicating experiment.
Both batches will remain untouched for a whole year, kept at an optimal 64.4°F (18°C), before being sent back to Earth in November 2020 for thorough investigations and comparisons. This research will take place at the University Of Bordeaux, France.
Researchers believe that aging in the unique environment of space may have a positive impact on the wine and that this investigation could influence the future of humanity’s access to food and drink.
The Final Frontier?
The Bordeaux project is to be followed up by similar research, including an endeavor to send grapevines to the ISS to study their growth. Through this effort, we may gain insight into methods of developing plants that thrive in difficult climates.
In the meantime, the bottles will serve as an incredibly exclusive collector’s item. Sponsors of the project will be eligible for special gift packages, containing a number of items that have embarked on space voyages. Of course, a bottle of the Bordeaux will be nestled among them!
By Chris Littlechild, contributor for Ripleys.com
January 6, 2020
The Museum Of Over 1,400 Decorated Toilet Seats
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Barney Smith collected toilet seats—a lot of them. And the collection he kept in a San Antonio garage was unique; for one thing, it was a collection of over 1,400. Each and every one of those toilet seats had been creatively hand-decorated, painted or otherwise embellished by Barney himself, transformed into head-turning works of art.
Alas, his backyard garage-turned-museum, which hosted frequent visitors and attracted attention from around the globe, is no longer with us. Neither is Barney. But the collection—and his legacy—live on.
In 2019, the collection moved to the regional Truck Yard chain’s location in The Colony, Texas, where it’s now on display. It seems that Barney had been looking for a buyer for a while; the folks at Truck Yard Beer Garden eventually made the offer and shared with him their plans for presentation. “He was happy with that, so he accepted,” Kristopher Livermore says. Kristopher oversees a Facebook page dedicated to preserving his grandfather’s legacy—Kristopher’s the son of Barney’s youngest daughter, Julia.
Photo courtesy of Kristopher Livermore (2011)
While Barney was there at the Beer Garden to cut the celebratory ribbon himself on that momentous day, he passed just weeks later at the age of 98.
In Barney’s own words, from the Truck Yard website:
“I appreciate them wanting…to put my work on display, and to show the world what I did for 97 years of my life. I’d like to be remembered for how a person could save a lot of stuff that is being destroyed [and] for showing them it needs to be saved – maybe not on a toilet seat, but they can save what has come their way instead of destroying it. Showing that it’s worth something.”
“We’re proud to be the home of Barney Smith’s Toilet Seat Art Museum,” Amanda Boso, Truck Yard’s Ms. Chief of Staff says. “We were lucky enough to spend time with Barney before he passed,” she adds. “It’s very special to us help his legacy continue. At Truck Yard, we like to keep things unique and fun, so what’s more unique and fun than a room full of toilet seats decorated with wacky and sentimental items from Barney’s life?”
Amanda offers a perspective on the importance of display and points out that all pieces have been utilized. “All the toilet seats are hung on the walls and parts of the ceiling. It’s wall-to-wall toilet seats,” she says. But that’s not all: they also enlisted a muralist to paint a parody of the Creation of Adam on the room’s ceiling—with painted hands passing a roll of toilet paper.
“We tried to make the experience as much like a real museum as possible. Customers … are wowed by Barney’s life’s work and appreciate the whimsy it brings to their visit.”
But how did it all get started? Despite his artistic leanings, many of the men in Barney’s family were plumbers. So, it made sense for him to pick up the tools of that trade and continue the family business.
But his creative nature found a way out, and in remarkable ways. Each individual toilet seat in Barney’s collection uses both planned and found objects to dazzle the eye. Many of his pieces depict celebrities, like Michael Jackson and JFK, and some have topical subjects taken right from the headlines—like one referencing the 1986 space shuttle disaster, or another work incorporating pieces of the Berlin Wall.
Much like plumbing, the museum in Barney’s garage became a family business, as well—sort of. “I helped out over the years,” Kristopher recalls. “If grandpa needed something printed, information, or emails sent out.”
“At a young age, I thought it was pretty cool,” Kristopher continues. “I remember every time we visited my grandparents, he’d invite us to look at all the new pieces he had put together.”
With thousands of unique works to observe, Kristopher does share a few that have stood out to him over the years. “The first (is one made with a) D.A.R.E. shirt, from my childhood,” he shares. The second one he mentions happened to also be his grandfather’s favorite, a piece quoting Rudyard Kipling’s poem “When Earth’s Last Picture Is Painted.”
“He learned (that poem) at a young age,” Kristopher says, “and still knew the words at the age of 98. He would try to quote it at least once for visiting guests.”
When Earth’s last picture is painted and the tubes are twisted and dried,
When the oldest colours have faded, and the youngest critic has died,
We shall rest, and faith, we shall need it – lie down for an aeon or two,
Till the Master of All Good Workmen Shall put us to work anew.
And those that were good shall be happy: they shall sit in a golden chair;
They shall splash at a ten-league canvas with brushes of comet’s hair.
They shall find real saints to draw from – Magdalene, Peter, and Paul;
They shall work for an age at a sitting and never be tired at all!
And only the Master shall praise us, and only the Master shall blame;
And no one will work for the money, and no one will work for the fame,
But each for the joy of the working, and each, in his separate star,
Shall draw the Thing as he sees It for the God of Things as They are!
An apt work to share, as we celebrate the work and legacy of Barney Smith. May his separate star shine eternal.
Now out of print, the book King of the Commode: Barney Smith and His Toilet Seat Art Museum, was published by Cattywampus Press in 2017. Barney Smith’s Toilet Seat Art Museum is open daily from 11 am-2am, at 5959 Grove Lane, The Colony, Texas.
By Bill Furbee, contributor for Ripleys.com
January 5, 2020
January 4, 2020
Tumbleweeds Trap Cars For Hours In Washington State
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
This Week
[December 29, 2019-January 4th, 2020] Tumbleweed terror, the world’s oldest know forest, stolen llamas, and the rest of the week’s weird news from Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
Tumbleweeds Trap Cars
While the citizens of Washington state might be used to finding their cars covered in snow in the winter, one group of unlucky people discovered they had a much stranger problem. After celebrating the New Year, several cars alongside State Route 240 were completely entombed in renegade tumbleweeds. The dried bushes had become so thick that it took a snowplow 10 hours to remove the 30-foot-high pile.
We’re still working on clearing the roadway with @WSDOT_East . We are unsure when the roadway will be opened. Tumbleweeds are piled 20-30 feet in places. S.C. pic.twitter.com/zFbA3luscg
— Trooper C. Thorson (@wspd3pio) January 1, 2020
Keeping Their Marriage Fresh
In 1997, Jordan and Jennifer Olson began working at a Subway in Utah. The pair got along well, making sandwiches together and eventually married. Now, over 20 years later, the happy couple has bought the sandwich shop where they met. Apparently, the couple still likes making subs for each other to this day!
Settawat Udom/Shutterstock
New York’s Fossil Forest
It turns out the oldest forest known to man has been hiding in upstate New York for 386 million years. The flora has turned to stone, but the fossilized remains still render giant roots and trees in stunning detail. Discovered in a limestone quarry, scientists say the site used to be where the Hudson River delta was located. Different from modern trees, experts say these trees didn’t have seeds but reproduced using single-cell spores.
A fossil from the nearby Gilboa forest, which is 2-3 million years younger than the newly-discovered one!/CC Frank Mannolini
Stolen Llamas
A llama farm in Southern California says at least 20 of their beloved camelids have been stolen after being released from their pens a few weeks ago! The farm has been the target of social media criticism, with some people concerned for the llamas’ care—though county animal services officers have since cleared the park of any neglect. In the meantime, law enforcement is on the lookout for a herd of lost llamas.
The History Of Toilet Paper
While most people hope to peruse books while at their local library, the Phoenix Library in Oregon hopes visitors will also check out their toilet paper. The library has put a collection of vintage toilet paper on display dating back to 1969. The paper was collected across Europe and shows off a variety of colors. Apparently, colored toilet paper came into fashion in the fifties but eventually fell out of favor when doctors warned it could be harmful.
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