Ripley Entertainment Inc.'s Blog, page 277
April 26, 2019
Australia’s Glow Worms: A Stunning Larva Light Show
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
The glow worm, one of Australia’s most dazzling bioluminescent creatures, is actually the larvae of a fungus gnat. The insect, which looks like a maggot, is a carnivore. They are also very tiny—just a few millimeters long—and thrive in dark, damp caves and rocky overhangs in the rainforest.
Ancient people were spellbound by glow worms and believed they possessed magic powers. Doctors even attempted to harness the insects’ power and use it to treat people’s ailments. The mysterious bugs have also been depicted as supernatural creatures in poetry and fairy tales.
There is a scientific explanation for their glow: it’s a chemical reaction. The blue-green light the larvae emit is caused by the enzymes and pigment in their bodies mixed with oxygen in the air. The glow is visible through their see-through abdomens and rear ends.
Similar to spiders, the larvae weave webs from the cave’s ceilings that are stippled with drops of mucus. The bioluminescence is used as bait to attract prey such as mosquitoes and midges (and occasionally cockroaches) into their tacky webs. The glow creates an incredible effect at night, with speckles of sparkling blue-green light blanketing a cave’s ceiling, tunnels, and walkways. Some have compared the scene to the Milky Way.
The bioluminescent substance is toxic to other insects and animals such as birds, spiders, and centipedes and serves as a warning to stay away.
The insects spend about nine months as larvae and must absorb as much food as they can before they metamorphose. Adult fungus gnats resemble mosquitoes and do not have mouths. They live for just a few days, perishing shortly after mating and laying eggs. There are currently three glow worm species that are described on the continent: Arachnocampa flava, found in Queensland, A. richardsae, found in New South Wales and A. tasmaniensis found in Tasmania. But there could be as many as a dozen different species in Australia.
Tourists are fascinated by the primitive insects, which require specific conditions in addition to high humidity in order to survive. Visitors are advised to avoid touching or shining light on the living lights. Flash photography, smoking, and loud noises are also prohibited.
There are a handful of glow worm colonies scattered across Australia. The larvae fungus gnats are most visible in the warmer and wetter months from December to March. One of the largest colonies is located in Springbrook National Park on the Gold Coast in Queensland. During the summer, visitors can see thousands of the larvae illuminating a 400-meter abandoned tunnel entrenched in the rain forest. The tunnel initially served as a part of a railway before it was deserted in the 1940s. The glow worms are attracted to its damp environment, and because the pitch-black tunnel is so long, visitors can experience the bioluminescence during the daytime if they walk far enough into it.
The glow worms are responsible for over $6 million in tourism revenue for Australia each year. The only other place where glow worms exist is in New Zealand.
By Noelle Talmon, contributor for Ripleys.com
April 25, 2019
You Can Now Live Inside A Giant Potato
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
[April 21-27, 2019] Living inside a giant potato, releasing a wayward bear, writing without hands, and the rest of the week’s weird news from Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
Be A Potato In A Potato
Known simply as The Big Idaho Potato, this spud is big enough to fit a small apartment inside—so that’s just what the Idaho Potato Commission did. The 28-foot-long 12-foot wide spud isn’t organic. It’s made from steel, plaster, and concrete. After traveling over 175,000 miles spreading potatoey goodness across the world, it will now reside in Boise, rented out for $200 a night as an Airbnb.
Credit: Idaho Potato Commission
Bear Returned To Arctic
A polar bear in the Russian arctic became stranded on a wayfaring ice floe and drifted 400 miles south before a team of fishermen rescued him. After a welcome feast of fish and four pounds of candy, the bear was loaded onto a helicopter and flown back home.
Skydiver Reunited With Lost Leg
Skydiving had already taken Dion Callaway’s leg once, but this week, it took his replacement, too. While falling from 10,000 feet above Cloverdale, California, his prosthetic leg was ripped off by the wind. A day later, workers at a nearby lumber yard found the severed prosthetic and called the police. Callaway is now reunited with his $15,000 leg and plans to resume his weekly jump schedule.
Handwriting Without Hands
Third-grader Sara Hinesley doesn’t think cursive is too had. She just won a national handwriting competition, but the catch is, she doesn’t have any hands. Despite being born without hands, Hinesley hasn’t let that stop her and says she can do just about anything she puts her mind to. To write, she conceived her own method for holding a pencil by gripping it between her arms.
US Navy Formalizes UFO Sightings
After decades of encounters with “unidentified aircraft,” the US Navy has decided to codify rules and regulations for logging official UFO sightings. They say that the stigma surrounding such an encounter has made personnel far less likely to report genuine encounters and that these new procedures will help the Navy get to the bottom of each and every report.
Behind The Scenes Of Ripley’s Return To Television
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! has cornered the market on the extraordinary, the death-defying, the odd, and the unusual. Now, 100 years after Robert L. Ripley catapulted the phrase, “Believe It or Not!,” into the American lexicon, Travel Channel has rebooted the iconic series, featuring a new host—veteran actor Bruce Campbell!
For 100 years, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! has been bringing people awe-inspiring stunts, unusual and mysterious objects, strange phenomenon, and mind-boggling feats. This summer, Ripley’s returns. Following in the footsteps of Jack Palance, Dean Cain, and Robert Ripley himself, Campbell introduces one astonishing story after another, challenging audiences to, “Believe it, or not!”
Shot on location at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! world headquarters in Orlando, Florida, the cast and crew shot while surrounded by thousands of genuine Ripley exhibits—many of which were collected by Robert Ripley himself.
Ripley started the Believe It or Not! empire in 1918 with a cartoon. The artist—soon turned adventurer and explorer—scoured the globe in search for amazing things to sate the appetite of a public in love with the bizarre and unbelievable. He brought back stories from all parts of the globe and oddities from right next door. Ripley didn’t just prove that the world was still wild and weird, but that the strangest people and things could be closer than you could ever imagine.
“Shooting this iconic series in the Ripley’s warehouse was actually unbelievable,” said Campbell. “I was blown away by the treasures that unveil a fascinating time capsule into the past and present. Fans are not going to be disappointed when they see the scope of wonderful and weird stories we reveal every week.”
The series premieres on Sunday, June 9th at 9 p.m. (ET/PT). Each of the 10 one-hour-long episodes will dive deep into the strange and unexpected. Campbell shines a spotlight on individuals with uncanny abilities and outrageous talent, takes viewers to unseen, invisible worlds, and dares them to watch showstopping spectacles almost impossible to believe.
“Fans are not going to be disappointed when they see the scope of wonderful and weird stories we reveal every week.”—Campbell
Will Touching A Baby Bird Make The Mother Abandon It?
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Were you—or are you—the kind of kid who liked to get into nature, to handle things from the great outdoors in order to learn more about the world around you? Then you probably heard the old saying from a parent or another adult at one time or another, the one that cautioned you from picking up baby birds found on the ground because, if they were handled by humans, their mothers would abandon them. Sounds legitimate, right? Well, this one’s actually not true for a number of reasons.
Birds Can’t Smell Humans
Most people, when asked about this commonly held belief, say birds will abandon their young after being touched by human hands because they can smell the scent of the human on their babies. This then causes the mother bird to become afraid of possible predators and to leave its children to the elements. One of the biggest issues with this concept is that birds are not particularly known for their keen sense of smell.
Of course, there are some types of fowl that have better noses than most. Turkey vultures, for instance, can find decaying matter by smell. However, most birds do not get by using their olfactory senses, as they just aren’t that sophisticated. So, if you’re worried a mother bird will smell you on her baby, you have nothing to be concerned about.
Birds Don’t Usually Abandon Their Young
This theory also ignores the nature of almost every living animal, which is to protect its offspring as much as possible. Sure, there are some instances where an animal may abandon its young, but this doesn’t happen very often. In fact, you can do a quick search for “birds protecting their young” and find tons of articles and even videos attesting to this fact. The idea that the mother bird would up at leave at the slightest sign of danger discounts her instinct to protect the children she’s spent time and effort raising.
Should You Handle a Baby Bird?
The story about how mother birds will abandon their babies if they are handled was most likely started by parents trying to prevent curious children from harming delicate and small animals. The truth is, however, although baby birds are sometimes seen outside their nests on the ground, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, nor does it always require human assistance.
Birds learning how to fly will likely spend some time hopping around until they get the hang of their wings. This means, if you see a small bird hopping or move about on the ground, it’s doing just fine. Another good indicator that the bird is right where it needs to be is that it has feathers. This means it’s old enough to fly and probably just trying to get the hang of it.
In the rare instance you do see a baby bird with weird, tufty feathers that haven’t fully come in or one that doesn’t seem to be able to move about on its own, it’s likely still a nestling. In this case, it is fine to carefully pick it up and place it back in its nest without any concern about its mother leaving it.
By Julia Tilford, contributor for Ripleys.com.
Source: Will Touching A Baby Bird Make The Mother Abandon It?
April 24, 2019
April 23, 2019
The Human Hairball That’s Still Growing
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
After seeing an enormous rubber band ball featured in the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! annual a few years ago, Blocker’s salon owner and stylist Steve Warden was inspired. In the following years, he collected mountains of hair from his clients and created a hairball unlike any other.
By 2019, Warden’s hairball eclipsed 100 pounds. With each small contribution from his patrons and other curious parties, the ball grew larger and larger. Unlike many hairballs that have a single source, the beauty of the human hair ball is its inconsistencies. The myriad of colors and quaffs contrast the many varieties and identities of human hair, yet all come together in a single unified shape.
Gorilla Glue and hair spray keep the ball together. Touching the object is an experience like none other. It’s sticky, yet dry, and soft, while feeling surprisingly brittle. Mounted atop four iron legs, the hairball sits suspended for people to view from all angles. Because it is made from such human elements—literally—Warden gave it a name: Hauss.
Hauss continues to grow to this day. He just got back from the Oddities & Curiosities Expo, where he put on a few more pounds of human hair. That’s right—the ball is still growing! As Hauss travels the country, we invite people to add a little piece of themselves. Hauss’s recent additions are evident by the dyed hair on his surface. A few willing patrons donated their red and aqua locks to the cause.
To date, over 400 people have personally contributed to Hauss’s girth. You can get your chance to step into the Ripley’s Barber Shop and leave your own mark at the Dallas Fan Expo, MegaCon, and Fan Expo Canada. The San Diego City Beat got a preview of the experience, and they said it stirred their “heart, gut, and soul.”
April 22, 2019
Inside The Last Blockbuster Video In The World
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
You may think Blockbuster is a thing of the past. A relic that many Americans remember fondly, but moved on to the likes of HBO and Showtime and now, Netflix and Redbox. Except in the town of Bend, Oregon. Here you’ll find the last of the iconic Blockbusters. Believe it or not, there is one last living legend of film entertainment where, if you still have your old laminated membership card, you can rent yourself a DVD.
Adwo/Shutterstock
Back in the day, before movies online and on demand, Blockbuster was the king of movie entertainment. It was a refuge for millions of people who worked all day and looked forward to a little escape in the evening. It was a good way to save time and money. To avoid large crowds, unwanted theater-talkers, and overpriced snacks. To simply relax at home with a few hours of comedy, romance, thrills, horrors or action-adventures—even a foreign film for an evening of culture (pretend or otherwise). Not to mention a great way to keep the kids quiet. Renting cartoons and popular children’s films was a way to reward kids and keep the peace over the weekend.
Alexander Oganezov/Shutterstock
Not much has changed over the years at the Bend location. The ubiquitous blue and gold color scheme, the snack shelves (Milk Duds, anyone?), popcorn ceilings and even the computer system (IBM) is exactly the same. Former employees stop by every so often, go behind the counter and are still able to navigate it. And maybe that is why this particular location has made it longer than any other. It’s a team effort and a family affair. The owners of the store, Ken and Debbie Tisher, are a husband and wife team. The general manager, Sandi Harding, has worked at this location since 2004. Her husband, Brad, worked in a corporate Blockbuster store in a nearby town and their three sons all worked at this location, where her youngest is now assistant manager.
Most of their new releases come from a company called Vobile, Inc., but it’s not as easy as it used to be to keep their impressive 12,000-title collection stocked. Sandi says the effort they put forth to find and maintain their inventory means a lot to their longtime loyal customers and she spends a good bit of her time driving around to local retailers for Disney films and TV shows, some of the items that are no longer distributed to them. Former customers also send her movies. “People send me VHS tapes that they had simply never returned,” Sandi says. “They want to see if I will forgive their late fees.” Hint: She will.
Sandi mentions that since the last few stores in Alaska announced they were closing last year, a lot of people have made the pilgrimage to her store. She’s even put out a guestbook for enthusiasts to sign and has filled two already. “We’ve had people from London, Taiwan, South Africa, Canada and, of course, all over the U.S. One time I received a handwritten letter from a lady on the East Coast who had heard this was the last location and, since she could not come by, enclosed a $5 donation to help keep the store going.”
When this Blockbuster in Australia closed, it left the Bend, Oregon, store the last store standing. Adwo/Shutterstock
What is the future for this final but flourishing destination? As for now, it’s more than just movie rentals. They’ve had a Blockbuster Beer crafted by a local brewer, once a month they host a comedy and trivia night with the local Bend Comedy Club, and they’ve held a successful early morning dance party. Plus, one die-hard Blockbuster fan has started a petition to make this beloved Blockbuster a landmark.
So, it may not be curtains for Blockbuster after all.
Want to sign that petition? Click here!
By Kara Killen, contributor for Ripleys.com
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