Ripley Entertainment Inc.'s Blog, page 238
November 13, 2019
November 12, 2019
How The Hourglass Shaped Human History
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
When the Archduke Azzo Visconti died on August 14, 1339, his death was recorded as occurring at the twentieth hour. In the whole of human history, he was the first person given a time of death with a modern hour. Before this point in history, accurate hours were reserved for the pedantic study of astronomers and mathematicians, but on the peninsula of Italy, time was just beginning to be codified across society.
While water clocks—known as clepsydra—had existed in the Western world for millennia, the usefulness of clocks, time, and schedules was something that would take civilizations a much longer time to make use of. Just as the lightbulb opened up a whole new world of possibilities for humankind to be industrious indoors and even at night, timekeeping was just about to revolutionize human productivity.
Allegory of Good Government, 1338, the earliest confirmed evidence of the hourglass.
The need for accurate timekeeping became a governance issue in places like London when Council meetings weren’t allowed to be held until the murkily designated time of “after mass.” The church, however, had little interest in keeping its services to a schedule. By setting meeting times to a more rigid “8 o’clock” schedules across the continent were able to be reigned in. While bells could help keep time for anybody within earshot of a city, relatively cheap and easy to produce hourglasses made it possible not just to keep time, but to coordinate events across countries and even oceans.
By using multiple hourglasses, churches, courts, and governing bodies were able to allocate short amounts of time to different items on their agendas. The hourglass set in the Ripley collection was acquired in 1925 by Robert Ripley himself on a trip to Italy.
The design of this timekeeper allows one to track the quarter, half, three-quarter, and full hour. Designs like this date back to the 17th-century, and would have probably been owned by a church.
No one is exactly sure who invented the hourglass, or how it came to such widespread popularity, but the device soon became invaluable. Ships could use them to navigate—the flow of their sand was less affected by waves than water clocks—and time was able to be standardized across the world.
Today, timekeeping is kept more precisely with universal constants and the ubiquity of technology, but low-tech hourglasses remain popular as timers for everything from home cooks poaching eggs to children brushing their teeth.
The Mothman, Protector Or Harbinger Of Doom? – Ripley’s Believe It or Notcast Episode 23
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
In the town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, tales of a giant winged figure is said to haunt the rolling hills of an old World War II munitions plant. Its presence has been accompanied by tragedy and the unexplained, but that hasn’t stopped people from seeing his glowing red eyes.
This week on the Notcast, we talk to people who claim to have seen the Mothman for themselves and ask the people of West Virginia what they think of this mysterious figure.
For more weird news and strange stories, visit our homepage, and be sure to rate and share this episode of the Notcast!
Source: The Mothman, Protector Or Harbinger Of Doom? – Ripley’s Believe It or Notcast Episode 23
November 11, 2019
When America Ran Out Of Toilet Paper
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
We’ve all been there. It’s the stomp-your-foot-moment when you take a quick restroom break and make the realization that you’re accompanied by a sad, empty brown roll staring you in the face—definitely not your ideal privy situation. However, this was a sad reality for many Americans in the year 1973 when Johnny Carson created a total toilet paper panic.
Unraveling The Story
Six-time Emmy Award winner Johnny Carson is known for his years as a comedian, writer, producer, and most famously, television host of the late-night American talk show, The Tonight Show. As we know, late-night hosts are notorious for their hilarious anecdotes and robust sense of humor. Carson was no different. During the opening monologue of one of his episodes, Carson read a newspaper clipping about a potential toilet paper shortage.
Cast of the television program The Tonight Show. From left: Skitch Henderson, Johnny Carson, and Ed McMahon.
Harold V. Froelich, a Republican congressman at the time, put out a press release warning the public about a possible, and in no way imminent, toilet paper shortage.
“The U.S. may face a serious shortage of toilet paper within a few months…we hope we don’t have to ration toilet tissue…a toilet paper shortage is no laughing matter. It is a problem that will potentially touch every American.”
Now, let’s remember: it was 1973. There seemed to be an exorbitant amount of shortages, oil scares, and economic stressors, so you can’t blame people for being a bit jumpy. But the media totally ran with this statement, blowing it far out of proportion with the omission of the “maybe” and the “potential.” Television stations even went as far as to air footage from the Scott Paper Company—one of the ten largest producers—of toilet tissue rolling flying off the production line. This left the shortage warning to be misinterpreted as a guaranteed disappearing act for toilet paper everywhere.
Rolling With The Punches
Along with all of the panic induced by the media, Carson certainly added to the mania when he read this clipping aloud, live on the air. For his 20 million nightly viewers, he cracked jokes and made statements regarding the shortage of toilet paper.
“You know, we’ve got all sorts of shortages these days. But have you heard the latest? I’m not kidding. I saw it in the papers. There’s an acute shortage of…of toilet paper!”
The ground had already been laid for a true panic amongst consumers; Carson simply ignited the spark for full-blown madness. Millions of Americans across the country flooded their local grocery and convenience stores, totally wiping them clean of all toilet paper. One consumer told The New York Times that, after hearing it on the news, they bought an extra 15 rolls. Another woman asked her party guests to arrive with a roll of toilet paper.
For a few months, toilet paper continued to be a rare find until—like most short-lived trends—the hype fizzled away. In the aftermath, Carson was certainly in the hot seat. Receiving a large portion of the blame for fueling the shortage myth, Carson issued a sincere apology to his viewers.
“I don’t want to be remembered as the man who created a false toilet paper scare. I just picked up the item from the paper and enlarged it somewhat…there is no shortage.”
At this point in time, the damage had been done and Americans were past all the potty drama. Most people would place the blame Johnny Carson for causing this tee-pee panic, but is he solely accountable?
Self-Inflicted Tee-Pee Panic
Remember all of those words like “potential” and “possible” that the media so conveniently omitted in their reports? Even before Carson’s joke on the air, Americans themselves are partially to blame for the self-induced toilet paper trauma. But can you blame them? These people were used to shortages of everything from oil to onions. The true panic stemmed from a blatant rumor.
“It’s a great case study about misinformation in the media. It goes beyond the base level of this bizarre event. There are lessons throughout about how we consume media,” said Brian Gersten, documentary filmmaker covering this particular incident in history.
So the next time you find yourself staring at that devilish brown tube of cardboard, consider yourself lucky that the next roll lies simply in your linen closet and not in critical supply.
November 10, 2019
November 9, 2019
November 8, 2019
Dueling To The Death: Trial By Combat
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
While medieval dramas like Game of Thrones may have raised the profile of the idea of trial by combat in more recent times, the legal process for the procedure still holds some weight in the United Kingdon’s justice system. As recently as 2002, a British citizen tried to opt for this kind of trial in the face of a 25 quid motoring offense.
Trial by combat is perhaps the simplest and oldest way to settle a dispute. In the case of a disagreement or spat over honor, the plaintiff and defendant would fight using simple weapons—often to the death. As legal systems became more sophisticated and fair, they became increasingly reserved for when witnesses were unavailable, or a consensus could be gathered no other way.
First becoming an accepted legal practice in Germany, judicial duels became the subject of many different sets of rules. The sorts of weapons and armor used, time of the confrontation, and even footing could all be decided by the letter of the law. The Dresden codex had rules that kept either combatant from starting the fight with the sun in their eyes, and another set of rules from a fencing school dictated that a combatant needed to slash at the air a few times in the case of a no-show.
Combat trials weren’t just reserved for disputes between men either; marital duels were commonplace as well. Used to settle arguments, the husband was buried to his waist and had his arm tied behind his back. He was given a club or mace while his wife was allowed to use a lengthened and weighted sleeve.
While laws in Germany incentivized fairness, knights in England were able to bring their full arsenals to bear on commoners who would only have access to the most basic equipment. Though judicial duels eventually fell out of favor with British courts, Queen Elizabeth II still retains a royal champion to defend the throne should someone challenge her to a trial by combat for the throne. The man who holds the office of “Queen’s Champion and Standard Bearer of England” today is named Francis John Fane Marmion Dymoke. He’s 64 years old and works mostly as an accountant.
A New Company Is Turning Carbon Dioxide Into Vodka
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
This Week
[November 3-9th, 2019] Turning pollution into vodka, a jet-powered batmobile, paying parking tickets with peanut butter, and the rest of the week’s weird news from Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
Turning CO2 Into Vodka
In what may seem like a divine miracle, a Brooklyn-based distillery has found a way to turn carbon dioxide into vodka. Instead of using the typical fermentation process, the Air Co. machines run on solar power, turning water and CO2 into ethanol. By capturing greenhouse gases from local polluters they hope their process could one day help protect the environment at scale. For now, their vodka is being distributed to New York restaurants at a cost of $65 a bottle.
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A post shared by Air Co. (@aircompany) on Nov 7, 2019 at 5:30am PST
HOLY BATMOBILE!
Brian Handler of Chicago has built his own batmobile in the image of the one used in the 1989 Tim Burton film starring Michael Keaton. His car is 22 feet long and contains a real Boeing jet engine. In total, the car weighs 5,000 pounds and has the ability to lift itself up and make a 360-degree pivot.
Out Of A Jam With Jam
University parking fines are the bane of any college student’s existence, but the University of Alaska Anchorage is looking to soothe the sting of its tickets. Students are now allowed to cover—or at least reduce—the cost of their fines by donating jars of peanut butter and jelly. The University hopes to beef up its food bank for students in need with the pilfered preserves.
Voting From Space
Odd-year elections are known for low turnout, especially if constituents are abroad. Andrew Morgan of Pennsylvania, however, managed to cast his vote despite being off the planet! An astronaut stationed aboard the International Space Station, Morgan submitted an absentee ballot, though it seems he missed out on his “I voted” sticker.
Iron Scow
For over a century an iron ship has sat near the edge of horseshoe falls in Niagara. A giant iron scow, the ship has sat about 2,000 feet from the precipice. This week, however, a storm swept through and moved the deteriorating ship. This is the first time the boat has moved since it was lost, moving it just a little closer to tipping over the falls.
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