Ripley Entertainment Inc.'s Blog, page 254
August 27, 2019
Foot-Throwing Daggers! Meet Sideshow Opera
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Nick and Lindsay Williams of New Orleans, Louisiana, combine their musical talents with dramatic acts—a performance that most certainly lives up to its name, Sideshow Opera. Nick first combined music and sideshow by singing opera while laying on a bed of nails. Lindsay joined in the symphony by playing the violin, but she wanted a circus talent of her own. Inspired by 1940s armless performer Judge Desmuke, Lindsay taught herself the art of knife throwing—with her feet!
Naturally, Ripley’s had many questions for the pair regarding their time together and the dangerously incredible acts of Sideshow Opera.
Q: How has your classical training led you to Sideshow Opera?
A: Nick’s intense vocal training included his teacher stacking heavy books on his diaphragm to build breath support, which has led to Nick being able to sing opera while Lindsay uses a sledgehammer to smash cinder blocks on his chest while he’s lying on a bed of nails!
Q: What inspired you to combine sideshow acts with opera and classical music?
A: We both find that the dramatics of classical music go very well theatrically with the dramatics and emotions that sideshow and circus acts create. We wanted to make classical music and opera more accessible to all ages and walks of life. Going to the opera or experiencing “high art” has always been an expensive experience, which can alienate some. There has also been a lack of interest in going to the opera recently, so we wanted to make something that could resonate with anyone by making opera and classical music more interesting, edgy, and fun.
The couple has taken their musical sideshow act across the country, having found a way to combine their love of music, each other, and history into a one-of-a-kind performance art. You can find Nick and Lindsay’s full story inside Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Beyond the Bizarre!
Roaches VS Nuclear Armageddon – Ripley’s Believe It or Notcast Episode 012
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Cockroaches are renowned for how hard they are to kill; they’ve even been rumored to be tough enough to survive nuclear Armageddon. But is their resilience exaggerated?
Is the roach’s body tough enough to survive nuclear detonation and fallout? This week on the Notcast, we break down the research behind a cockroach and atomic bomb confrontation.
The Squishing Apparatus:
For more weird news and strange stories, visit our homepage, and be sure to rate and share this episode of the Notcast!
Source: Roaches VS Nuclear Armageddon – Ripley’s Believe It or Notcast Episode 012
August 26, 2019
Rediscovering the Earth’s Most Enormous Bee
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Discovered in 1858 by famed English entomologist, Alfred Russel Wallace, the Wallace giant bee, scientifically known as Megachile pluto, lives up to its reputation as the largest bee in the world. It boasts a wingspan of two-and-a-half inches and a length of an inch-and-a-half, about the size of a large egg.
After its initial finding by Wallace, the bee proved so elusive that it was declared extinct until 1981 when American researcher Adam Catton Messer observed several males and females on three different islands located in the Moluccas, otherwise known as Malukus, an archipelago in eastern Indonesia.
Wallace’s giant bee dwarfs the common honey bee in size. (Composite)
© Clay Bolt | claybolt.com
Now, 38 years later, a team of researchers from the Search for Lost Species Program at Global Wildlife Conservation (GWC) has reported finding a female Wallace giant bee. And, believe it or not, they have the photos to prove it.
A Bee of a Tale
GWC researchers scoured the Bacan Islands in the Moluccas- one of the last-known areas of habitat for the enormous bee. The research team tasked with finding the “holy grail” of bees included entomologist, Eli Wyman, ornithologist, Glenn Chilton, behavioral ecologist, Simon Robson, and natural history photographer, Clay Bolt. Their successful find has not only proven an internet sensation but has sparked hopes of preserving what remains of this remarkable species.
The bee itself is about the size of a human thumb. Females of the species sport massive stag-beetle-like mandibles. These make the flying giants look like the work of nightmares. Despite their vicious appearance, the arthropods serve a wholly, peaceful purpose. Females use their jaws to scratch resin off trees, which they then use to build their nests.
Finding an Elusive Creature
How did the team find such a shy creature? They started by pouring over Messer’s notes from his encounter with the large insect. According to Messer, the bees liked to build their nests in the lowland forest inside the homes of tree-dwelling termites. Using satellite imagery, the GWC team identified the best areas to search and familiarized themselves with the island’s terrain.
But once they arrived, they only had five days to find the creature. While interviewing locals, they felt disheartened to learn that no one had ever heard of, let alone seen, the behemoth they were looking for. The insect seemed to have virtually disappeared.
Scoping Out Termite Nests
Disappointed by the lack of local eyewitnesses, the team started scoping out termite nests. They spent hours observing what entered and left each burrow. In a few instances, the team thought they’d found a specimen, only to realize a wasp had duped them. The work proved hot, muggy, and grueling, but they weren’t about to give up.
Finally, on the last day of their five-day excursion, they spotted a termite nest with serious giant bee potential. Suspended eight feet above the ground, the only way to access the termite home was by climbing, and that’s exactly what Bolt did. What he saw inside proved both humbling and breathtaking — the first sighting of a Wallace giant bee in nearly forty years.
© Clay Bolt | claybolt.com
The Discovery of a Lifetime
Just four years prior, the GWC team had dreamed of seeing a giant bee in the wild, and now they couldn’t believe their eyes. Capturing photos to confirm their discovery proved of the highest order; they patiently waited for the shy bee to emerge from her termite nest.
After a couple of hours, she poked her head out and proved otherwise camera shy. The researchers finally resorted to tickling her with a piece of grass in the hopes of getting her to emerge. Soon enough she crawled into a large tube that the team provided. The researchers captured photos before and during her flight as she was released from the tube.
Natural history photographer Clay Bolt photographing the rediscovered Wallace’s giant bee in a flight box, which was used for the team to observe the bee for a few minutes and document the rediscovery. © Simon Robson
A Future for the Wallace Giant Bee
The researchers hope that by sharing the news of this discovery, they’ll raise public awareness and support for the plight of the Wallace giant bee. They also hope that the rediscovery will spark future research. If scientists can learn more about the life history of the bee, perhaps they can better protect it from extinction.
© Clay Bolt | claybolt.com
Deforestation continues to ramp up in Indonesia making it more important than ever to educate the public of the high stakes involved in preserving this incredibly rare species. What’s more, the international trade of this species remains unrestricted– another factor impacting the bee’s fight for survival.
If the Wallace giant bee can become an iconic symbol of the conservation movement, perhaps they’ll stand a fighting chance. And, perhaps, more than a handful of researchers will have the opportunity to observe them in the wild.
“It was absolutely breathtaking to see this ‘flying bulldog’ of an insect that we weren’t sure existed anymore, to have real proof right there in front of us in the wild,” said Clay Bolt.
By Engrid Barnett, contributor for Ripleys.com
August 25, 2019
August 24, 2019
August 23, 2019
The Sunken Remains of the Titanic
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
This Week
[August 18-24th, 2019] The annual French twin festival, Obama’s high school basketball jersey, and the rest of the week’s weird news from Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
Our Hearts Will Go On
One-hundred-and-seven years after sinking to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, the remains of the Titanic continue to rapidly disintegrate into the sea. A team of ocean explorers recently revisited the wreck for the first time in 14 years and found that some of the wreck’s most iconic features are withering away to nothing. Some of these scenes include the officers’ quarters on the ship’s starboard side, the captain’s bathtub, and the staterooms.
In its prime, the Titanic carried 2,224 passengers and crew before hitting an iceberg the night of April 14, 1912.
Twin Festival in France
The 25th-annual twin festival was held this week in Pleucadeuc, Brittany— a small town in France. The town’s mayor, Alain Launay, started the festival in 1994 in honor of his twin daughters. This year, more than 1,500 twins, triplets, and quadruplets attended the event to celebrate their relationship with their siblings. The festivities, including live music, games, and a parade, are organized by Pleucadeuc’s “Twins and More Association.”
Big Boy Mr. B
This 26-pound cat is breaking the internet, quite literally. After photos of the Philadelphia kitty went viral, the website of the animal shelter where he’s up for adoption completely crashed due to an influx of messages. So many hopeful pet owners were enthusiastic about adopting this hefty tabby, Mr. B. The shelter’s Twitter account has gotten much attention from the post and based on the plethora of positive responses, it seems Mr. B will find a new home in no time.
OMG, big boi Mr. B is a CHONK. He’s a chonk of a chonk. He redefines the term. Can you guess how much he weighs? More importantly, can you give him a home? Adopt this jumbo-sized package of fluff & love: https://t.co/v8aB6PzBbL. Please RT to help this sad-eyed guy find happiness! pic.twitter.com/tquRuvRaws
— Morris Animal Refuge (@MorrisAnimal) August 22, 2019
Obama’s Basketball Jersey
A collector paid $120,000 at a sports memorabilia auction for former President Barack Obama’s high school basketball jersey. The number 23 jersey was offered by a classmate who was three years behind Obama in school. The seller wore the passed down uniform himself following Obama’s time on the court.
Letters from Sea
Tyler Ivanoff was gathering firewood on the shores near Shishmaref, Alaska, when he stumbled upon a perfectly preserved, 50-year-old message in a bottle written by a Cold War Russian sailor. After uncorking the bottle with a screwdriver, Ivanoff took to the internet in hopes of a Russian-to-English translator response. The greeting was dated June 20, 1969. His discovery led to a reconnection with the original author of the note, Captain Anatolii Prokofievich Botsanenko, who was able to relive the nostalgic time he spent onboard the ship 50 years ago.
August 22, 2019
Was George Washington The Founding Father of Marijuana?
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
It’s an urban legend that has gained serious traction since the 1990s and it all started with one-dollar US bills stamped with a conversation bubble near George Washington’s mouth reading, “I grew hemp.”
Those supporting modern-day legalization of marijuana jumped on the notion with a fury. Whispered rumors and stamped currency transformed into full online treatises about Washington’s weed growing—and smoking—days. By 2015, blog posts examined whether or not the founding father was a user of medical marijuana, too.
But, does any of this hold up to a fact check? Let’s dive into this fascinating topic to find out whether or not our first president was a “Founding Father of Weed.”
The “Muddy Hole” Marijuana Scandal
The “First President of Marijuana” legend resurfaced in August 2018. That’s when Smithsonian Magazine reported that industrial hemp was again being grown and harvested at Mount Vernon, the site of Washington’s plantation. Oddly enough, this report was 100 percent accurate, both in terms of the contemporary news story and its historical underpinnings.
According to the Washington Post, a farm journal entry from August 7, 1765, proves that the first president did indeed cultivate hemp on a large plot of land that he referred to as “Muddy Hole.” In the journal entry, he notes having taken too long to separate the male from the female hemp plants.
However, his journal falls far short of extolling marijuana for its medicinal—let alone recreational—purposes. As it turns out, hemp was a popular cash crop in the Americas, highly valued for its numerous industrial applications.
Washington wasn’t alone in his hemp cultivation interest. Thomas Jefferson also enthusiastically wrote about hemp’s potential as a cash crop. Among his favorite things about the plant? It proved highly productive and hearty, growing forever on the same plot with little farmer-intervention needed.
Hemp’s Myriad Uses
For both Washington and Jefferson, hemp represented a cash crop. In other words, they didn’t intend to use the plants they harvested for themselves. Rather, they sought “cash” for them on the market. Either way you slice it, hemp was a handy commodity to have around, from bringing in money to providing necessary fiber products for the farm.
How did 18th-century hemp get used? Its tough fibers proved excellent for crafting rope and canvas or spinning into cloth. However, its myriad uses didn’t end there. Hemp oil could be extracted from its seeds and used to manufacture everything from varnishes to paints. In essence, hemp represented a cash crop of the first order.
Of all the parties interested in hemp exports, the Royal Navy proved the most enthusiastic. After all, strong ropes and canvas sails proved crucial to the daily operations of British sailing ships.
The Plant that Helped Britain Rule the Seven Seas
Britain’s navy proved very active at this time and was considered the most effective fighting force in the world—having won all of the great battles and many wars at sea in recent memory. No event better illustrated this reputation than the conclusion of the Seven Years’ War in 1763.
Known as the French and Indian War in North America, it came with decisive victories for the UK against both France and Spain. Now, the Royal Navy had more territory than ever before to maintain and, as a result, it required more rope and canvas in the process.
In essence, the hemp fields of Virginia buttressed up Britain’s ambitious exploration, militarization, and colonization efforts around the world.
American Farmers and Hemp Production
Over time, America became synonymous with hemp production. Hemp farmers in the thirteen colonies represented an integral part of ensuring the Royal Navy’s strength.
And after the Revolution? The newly-minted US government encouraged hemp production for the budding nation’s industrial needs.
Besides rope, canvas, and cloth-making, hemp also came in handy for a wide variety of other tasks that would have been crucial to late 18th-century and early 19th-century agricultural practices. These included making sacks to store grain and seeds, weaving linen for clothes, and even repairing nets used during fishing trips to the Potomac.
No wonder Washington and Jefferson proved such staunch supporters of this immensely useful plant. But, oh, how times would change!
In 1937, the Marihuana Tax Act categorized hemp, along with marijuana and other forms of cannabis, a highly suspicious substance. By 1970, the Controlled Substances Act classified all forms of cannabis (including hemp) Schedule I drugs. The fate of American farmers who cultivated hemp changed radically within just a few short decades.
The Founding Father of Weed?
When it’s all said and done, Washington wasn’t smoking blunts or advocating for legalized marijuana. After all, it wasn’t even illegal yet.
Despite hemp’s tarnished 20th-century reputation, Washington and Jefferson didn’t grow strains of the crop that would be recognized as marijuana today. The tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels were far too low to induce any kind of “high.” And, as Washington’s journals clearly indicate, he was interested in hemp solely for its industrial purposes.
Nonetheless, when hemp became illegal to grow and possess in 1970, knowledge of its industrial uses vanished, too. And the history of one of America’s most important cash crops disappeared in the shadow of the “War on Drugs.”
By Engrid Barnett, contributor for Ripleys.com
Source: Was George Washington The Founding Father of Marijuana?
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