Ripley Entertainment Inc.'s Blog, page 247
September 30, 2019
September 29, 2019
September 28, 2019
Living In The Futuro
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
For many, the thought of boarding an alien vessel might be one of blood-chilling proportions, a thrill best avoided by the fortunate.
But, during the late 1960s and early ‘70s, a number of prefabricated homes around the world were designed and built with exactly that experience in mind. And, a rare few of these alien structures are admired to this day.
It Came From Finland
Finnish designer Matti Suuronen designed these Futuro homes, as they’re officially known, to intentionally resemble flying saucers. That’s right, the same interstellar circular vessels as seen on stage and screen, with a dazzling series of round or oval windows spanning their perimeter to provide a panoramic view of the galaxy, as it would theoretically dart from one planetary system to the next.
But, despite—or perhaps, in spite of—Futuro’s unique appearance, less than a hundred of these marvels were produced.
Why the Futuro Touched Down
In the 1960s and ‘70s, mankind’s aspirations to conquer our next frontier were fixated in the psyche of nearly everyone. From Barbarella to Space Odyssey, from Star Wars to Star Trek; we were eager for a close encounter, one way or another. And for many, that was most readily achieved with the Futuro.
Berlin Culture Park, 1974
Fantasies aside, the Futuro was actually designed with practicality in mind; Suuronen wanted to envision a structure that would be easy to assemble (in only two days!), and one that would be efficient to heat. They were built of an undeniably earthly polyester plastic and reinforced with fiberglass, alongside a host of other man-made synthetic materials. They were also intended for use in just about any worldly landscape, from woodland reprieves to sandy shores.
Objections from Earthlings
The very first Futuro unit, erected in Suuronen’s homeland of Finland, received its fair share of complaints from perplexed neighbors. Zoning officials the world over would soon join that chorus, and it disappeared from the marketplace in the mid-’70s; Futuro’s fate as one of the Space Age’s most notable artistic contributions was then set in stone.
Suuronen Strikes Back
The Futuro wasn’t Suuronen’s last space-age attempt at a unique design for the earth-bound, however; in 1971 he designed the Venturo, which enjoyed a more traditional (by comparison, but also thoroughly Modern) structure, intended for use as a weekend bungalow or getaway. It would seem, however, that even fewer Venturos made it into production… er, that is… the Futuro.
By Bill Furbee, contributor for Ripleys.com
Source: Living In The Futuro
Living in the Futuro
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
For many, the thought of boarding an alien vessel might be one of blood-chilling proportions, a thrill best avoided by the fortunate.
But, during the late 1960s and early ‘70s, a number of prefabricated homes around the world were designed and built with exactly that experience in mind. And, a rare few of these alien structures are admired to this day.
It Came From Finland
Finnish designer Matti Suuronen designed these Futuro homes, as they’re officially known, to intentionally resemble flying saucers. That’s right, the same interstellar circular vessels as seen on stage and screen, with a dazzling series of round or oval windows spanning their perimeter to provide a panoramic view of the galaxy, as it would theoretically dart from one planetary system to the next.
But, despite—or perhaps, in spite of—Futuro’s unique appearance, less than a hundred of these marvels were produced.
Why the Futuro Touched Down
In the 1960s and ‘70s, mankind’s aspirations to conquer our next frontier were fixated in the psyche of nearly everyone. From Barbarella to Space Odyssey, from Star Wars to Star Trek; we were eager for a close encounter, one way or another. And for many, that was most readily achieved with the Futuro.
Berlin Culture Park, 1974
Fantasies aside, the Futuro was actually designed with practicality in mind; Suuronen wanted to envision a structure that would be easy to assemble (in only two days!), and one that would be efficient to heat. They were built of an undeniably earthly polyester plastic and reinforced with fiberglass, alongside a host of other man-made synthetic materials. They were also intended for use in just about any worldly landscape, from woodland reprieves to sandy shores.
Objections from Earthlings
The very first Futuro unit, erected in Suuronen’s homeland of Finland, received its fair share of complaints from perplexed neighbors. Zoning officials the world over would soon join that chorus, and it disappeared from the marketplace in the mid-’70s; Futuro’s fate as one of the Space Age’s most notable artistic contributions was then set in stone.
Suuronen Strikes Back
The Futuro wasn’t Suuronen’s last space-age attempt at a unique design for the earth-bound, however; in 1971 he designed the Venturo, which enjoyed a more traditional (by comparison, but also thoroughly Modern) structure, intended for use as a weekend bungalow or getaway. It would seem, however, that even fewer Venturos made it into production… er, that is… the Futuro.
By Bill Furbee, contributor for Ripleys.com
Source: Living in the Futuro
September 27, 2019
An Angry Walrus Sunk A Russian Navy Boat
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
This Week
[September 22-28th, 2019] An angry walrus, lost Renaissance masterpiece, cheesy invention, and the rest of the week’s weird news from Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
Walrus VS The Russian Navy
A group of researchers stationed on a Russian Navy tugboat were surveying a remote archipelago in the Arctic Ocean when they stumbled across a walrus mother and her calves. Having taken a smaller boat to shore, they tried to flee, but the walrus pursued them, attacking their boat. According to the Russian Geographical Society, the boat was destroyed, sinking into the sea. The researchers, however, have all been declared safe.
Burt’s Cheese
They say that necessity is the mother of invention, but is cheese a necessity? According to a St. Louis fourth-grader: Yes. Yes it is. Prohibited from openly munching on cheddar in class, the inventive nine-year-old devised an apparatus to deliver cheese as furtively as possible. Cleaning out an old chapstick tube, she filled the container with cheese. After her first test, she declared it a success, proving there’s nowhere cheese can’t go. As for whether the cheese-balm is allowed, Dictionary.com was quick to point out that balm is anything that heals, soothes, or mitigates.
My 9-year-old daughter has taken an old lip balm tube and filled it with cheese so she can eat it in class. pic.twitter.com/YEAqZx2wnr
— Valerie Schremp Hahn
An Angry Walrus Sunk a Russian Navy Boat
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
This Week
[September 22-28th, 2019] An angry walrus, lost Renaissance masterpiece, cheesy invention, and the rest of the week’s weird news from Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
Walrus VS The Russian Navy
A group of researchers stationed on a Russian Navy tugboat were surveying a remote archipelago in the Arctic Ocean when they stumbled across a walrus mother and her calves. Having taken a smaller boat to shore, they tried to flee, but the walrus pursued them, attacking their boat. According to the Russian Geographical Society, the boat was destroyed, sinking into the sea. The researchers, however, have all been declared safe.
Burt’s Cheese
They say that necessity is the mother of invention, but is cheese a necessity? According to a St. Louis fourth-grader: Yes. Yes it is. Prohibited from openly munching on cheddar in class, the inventive nine-year-old devised an apparatus to deliver cheese as furtively as possible. Cleaning out an old chapstick tube, she filled the container with cheese. After her first test, she declared it a success, proving there’s nowhere cheese can’t go. As for whether the cheese-balm is allowed, Dictionary.com was quick to point out that balm is anything that heals, soothes, or mitigates.
My 9-year-old daughter has taken an old lip balm tube and filled it with cheese so she can eat it in class. pic.twitter.com/YEAqZx2wnr
— Valerie Schremp Hahn
September 26, 2019
Unexplained Death Dioramas From the 1940s
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Unexplained Death Dioramas
These 1:12 models of grisly murder scenes were handcrafted with exquisite detail. Each one was made to reflect real crime scenes from the 1940s.
The Mother of Forensic Science
The architect of all of these dioramas was Frances Glessner Lee, a wealthy heiress from Chicago. She was born into the family that owned International Harvester, but her true interests lie in solving mysteries.
She built the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death to aid in training police officers and crime scene investigators.
“To clear the innocent as well as expose the guilty. Seek only the facts—find the truth in a Nutshell.”
Frances Glessner Lee building a diorama.
Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death
Forensics students were given 90 minutes to carefully study the details of the crime scene. The only things they could use were a small flashlight, magnifying glass, and their own deductive skills to solve the mystery.
Locked doors, working lights, object placement, and body orientation are all set with precise detail. To model these precise crime scenes, Lee even went to such great lengths as attending autopsies to properly reproduce the fabrics victims wore.
Despite being constructed in the 1940s, the dioramas have been so useful in teaching students to pay attention to detail, that they are still used today. For her work in the forensics field, Lee is known as the mother of forensic science and is even rumored to have been the inspiration behind Murder, She Wrote‘s Jessica Fletcher.
Images CC Lorie Shaull
Unexplained Death Dioramas from the 1940s
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Unexplained Death Dioramas
These 1:12 models of grisly murder scenes were handcrafted with exquisite detail. Each one was made to reflect real crime scenes from the 1940s.
The Mother of Forensic Science
The architect of all of these dioramas was Frances Glessner Lee, a wealthy heiress from Chicago. She was born into the family that owned International Harvester, but her true interests lie in solving mysteries.
She built the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death to aid in training police officers and crime scene investigators.
“To clear the innocent as well as expose the guilty. Seek only the facts—find the truth in a Nutshell.”
Frances Glessner Lee building a diorama.
Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death
Forensics students were given 90 minutes to carefully study the details of the crime scene. The only things they could use were a small flashlight, magnifying glass, and their own deductive skills to solve the mystery.
Locked doors, working lights, object placement, and body orientation are all set with precise detail. To model these precise crime scenes, Lee even went to such great lengths as attending autopsies to properly reproduce the fabrics victims wore.
Despite being constructed in the 1940s, the dioramas have been so useful in teaching students to pay attention to detail, that they are still used today. For her work in the forensics field, Lee is known as the mother of forensic science and is even rumored to have been the inspiration behind Murder, She Wrote‘s Jessica Fletcher.
Images CC Lorie Shaull
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