Ripley Entertainment Inc.'s Blog, page 281
April 4, 2019
April 3, 2019
April 2, 2019
This Ivory Cricket Cage Belonged To A Prized Fighter
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Believe it or not, people in China once kept fighting crickets as highly prized pets.
Emerging during the Tang Dynasty more than 1,000 years ago, cricket fighting began its popularity with Emperors before making its way to commoners. Mixed into the busy street sounds of Beijing, the chirping of cricket-fighting rings can still be heard today.
Credit: Elena Ordeeva/Shutterstock
While many modern cultures may eschew the cricket as a crop-eating pest and noisy nuisance, the Chinese have long adored these singing insects for their beautiful music. The well-educated nobility held deep-rooted interests in the insects of the natural world, even compiling an encyclopedia that heavily featured them by 500 BC. While the worm and cricket became symbols of rot and famine in the West, they were well regarded in the East. The silkworm, in particular, represented the backbone of the silk trade.
Within the walls of the Forbidden City, nobles’ demand for well-bred crickets resulted in an industry of breeding prized singing and fighting crickets. Because crickets have a relatively short lifespan—just a few months, many days of which are spent as larvae or immature nymphs—crickets needed to be replaced often. Cricket hunters were paid handsomely for returning with high-quality insects, and breeders kept careful track of cricket pedigree.
Winning crickets were treated with the privilege of a long-lived gladiator. They were given the best food, the best homes, and even the best females. Fighting crickets spend the majority of their time housed in special clay vessels or specially-shaped gourds. Cages were used to display the ferocity of a champion cricket. The more ornate the cage, the more prized the fighter.
Crickets didn’t fight to the death in their matches, however, just until one tried to escape. Crickets had to be riled into action. Before a match, the crickets might have a female dropped into their cage to excite them, and then they would be dropped into an arena—separated by a divider. Handlers would carefully stimulate the crickets’ antennae with a piece of straw, then remove the divider. The crickets would hop at each other with their powerful legs. The first to try and avoid combat, or to be knocked clear out of the ring, was the loser.
Source: This Ivory Cricket Cage Belonged To A Prized Fighter
April 1, 2019
Russia’s 28-Million-Liter Fruit Juice Flash Flood
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
The sleepy town of Lebedyan, Russia, located 235 miles south of Moscow, doesn’t often make international headlines. A city of 21,012 residents, it boasts two humble claims to fame: 1) the first horse-racing track in Russia—circa 1826—and 2) the headquarters for PepsiCo’s Lebedyansky. Lebedyansky is the largest fruit juice manufacturer in Eastern Europe and the sixth largest in the world.
Well, this quiet Russian hamlet can now add a third item to the list—a fruit juice flash flood of epic proportions.
A Sticky Situation
On Tuesday, April 25, 2017, a Lebedyansky warehouse roof suddenly collapsed sending two people to the hospital. About 300 square meters of the factory failed, launching 28 million liters of fruit and vegetable juices straight towards Lebedyan. Fortunately, despite the two injured employees, no deaths were reported.
But to get a taste of the disaster’s scale, juices including pineapple, tangerine, pomegranate, cherry, and orange flowed from the collapsed plant down city streets. Locals captured incredible videos of the colorful river of fructose making waves around their vehicles and causing general mayhem.
To make a sticky situation, well, even stickier, the onslaught of colorful juices headed straight for the nearby River Don, one of Russia’s longest waterways.
Lebedyansky juices/CC A. Savin
Clean Up Efforts
By early Tuesday afternoon, rescue workers cleared debris from the factory floor. They also assessed the stability of the remaining structure ensuring there would be no further sugary flooding. The two injured employees, who got trapped on a 125-foot-tall gantry during the roof collapse, were reported in stable condition.
Local authorities began monitoring pollution levels in the River Don. After all, few rivers have absorbed quite that much juice in a 24-hour window. Although no negative impacts were immediately reported, environmentalists will continue to monitor ecological impacts from the bizarre disaster for years to come.
The Aftermath
PepsiCo acquired a 75.53 percent share in Lebedyansky in 2008 for $1.4 billion. After the 2017 deluge, they released an official apology to residents of Lebedyan offering to pay for repairs and damages, but PepsiCo also argued that the level of flooding wasn’t as dramatic as reported by the media. That said, videos from people left to navigate the tropical-fruit-juice-filled roadways paint a different picture.
In the past, Russian President Vladimir Putin has cast a skeptical eye on many American companies wishing to do business in Russia, especially those seeking a sales boost alone. But he has looked more favorably on companies like PepsiCo who invest in hard assets and contribute to local communities. Despite the gargantuan flood of sweet liquid, PepsiCo’s success in Russia hasn’t soured, though the same can’t be said for all of the juices that doused Lebedyan.
By Engrid Barnett, contributor for Ripleys.com
March 31, 2019
March 30, 2019
March 29, 2019
The Largest Known T. Rex Roamed Canada
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
[March 24-30th, 2019] Giant dinosaurs, mysterious cat phones, a birding league, and the rest of the week’s weird news from Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
The Biggest T. Rex
Paleontologists in Canada have just unearthed the biggest Tyrannosaurus rex on record. Lovingly named “Scotty,” this prehistoric behemoth stood 43 feet tall and is estimated to have weighed nearly 20,000 pounds! Its splendid size makes it one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs ever found. Scientists note that some T. rex were slim and lanky, but not Scotty. This king of kings had thick bones scarred with numerous injuries and is thought to have lived for 30 years—longer than the average T. rex.
CC Kumiko
Cheese Wall
Artist Cosimo Cavallaro has launched a crusade to “make America grate again.” He’s building a wall along the Mexico-United States border out of cojita cheese. Stacking the cheese blocks in the searing sun, he hopes to construct 1,000 feet of the 6-foot-tall cheesy edifice. He notes on his website that he’s only using expired cheese unfit for consumption.
The Garfield Phone Mystery
After 35 years, a mystery involving Garfield phones showing up on the French coast has been solved. Since the 1980s, phones bearing the likeness of everybody’s favorite lasagna-loving cat have been popping up on French beaches. Despite their ubiquity, however, no one knew where they coming from until a local farmer, René Morvan, came forward. He remembered a storm had sent a shipping container hurtling into a sea cave. Unfortunately, the container is stuck out of reach, but the phones continue to slowly find their way out into the sea.
Fantasy Birding
People might not think birding is exciting enough to become a spectator sport, but as birders up North continue facing cold, inhospitable weather, some have turned to fantasy birding leagues to get their fix. Using websites for birders to report their findings, participants draft locations then tally their scores. If a new bird is spotted in your location, you get the points. Amateur birders unable to get out there and have a big year themselves can now keep up with their passion from the comfort of their computers.
Giving Birth Twice In 26 Days
Arifa Sultana of Bangladesh gave birth to a baby boy, then just a few weeks later gave birth to a completely separate set of twins. The pregnancies seemed a complete mystery until her gynecologist discovered Sultana had two uteruses. She had not received an ultrasound during her first pregnancy, so doctors hadn’t realized she was carrying three babies!
Ripley Entertainment Inc.'s Blog
- Ripley Entertainment Inc.'s profile
- 52 followers
