Ripley Entertainment Inc.'s Blog, page 306
November 18, 2018
November 17, 2018
November 16, 2018
Dark Matter Hurricane Headed For The Milky Way
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
[November 11-17th, 2018] Kicking for misses, a treasure-trove of cats, explosive divorce, and a cosmic storm.
Upright Kicker
Cody Parker, the kicker for the Chicago Bears, seemed to be competing for a stat that doesn’t appear in any record books. He hit the field goal uprights four times in their game against the Detroit Lions. Parker may have missed those four extra points, but thankfully his team didn’t need them, closing out the game 34 to 22.
Meanwhile in Chicago…@ChicagoBears kicker Cody Parker has hit the upright FOUR times
November 15, 2018
Dismantling One Of Thanksgiving’s Greatest Myths
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Or Not
In today’s world many misconceptions have been perpetuated—becoming modern day “facts”—when, in reality, myths and hearsay have taken over. Sorry to burst your bubble, but in this weekly column, Ripley’s puts those delusions to the test, turning your world upside down, because you can’t always…Believe It!
Today: Turkey won’t make you sleepy.
Ah! Fall marks a magical time of year, ushering in brightly hued leaves, cozy cardigans, and pumpkin spiced everything. It signals the start of the holiday season and the mad consumer-based dash from Halloween to Christmas. Smack-dab in the middle sits Thanksgiving, a weird feast of the senses that makes communal overeating a patriotic duty.
From the gravy to the mashed potatoes, the stuffing to the turkey, the cranberry relish to the pumpkin pie, we know the holiday’s sacrosanct menu by heart. We’re also well-versed with the special Thanksgiving paralysis that follows the meal. Caused by none other than turkey’s high tryptophan content, right? Wrong!
What’s the Deal with Tryptophan?
On the surface, the turkey-tryptophan myth sounds plausible. Heck, it almost appears to be backed by scientific evidence. Let’s start there.
An essential amino acid, tryptophan plays a crucial role in human health. It helps build specific types of protein, and it’s connected to the sleep process. In fact, the body utilizes tryptophan to process serotonin, and serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps the human body regulate sleep patterns. So far so good, right?
What’s more, turkey does contain tryptophan. But does that point to the smoking turkey? The answer’s a resounding no. Here’s the crux of the problem…
The Truth about Tryptophan
Now it’s time for the hard, cold truth about tryptophan. Turkey’s not the only meat that contains tryptophan. And it doesn’t even contain remarkably high levels. In fact, all meat contains comparable amounts of the stuff. Yet, you don’t hear anybody sitting around complaining about a steak coma or a chicken marsala coma, do you?
What’s more, if you look at the amount of tryptophan in turkey gram for gram, cheddar cheese actually contains more of it than turkey. Again, who complains about needing a mac and cheese nap? Although it would be nice if kids got that memo!
Foods high in tryptophan.
So, how in the heck did turkey end up with the bad rap? It has to do with all of the other things consumed and drunk in overabundance during the biggest meal of the year…
Do Big Meals Make You Sleepy?
Yes, if we’re talking about a big meal like Thanksgiving that involves serious carb-loading. Especially when mixed with alcohol, it makes for the perfect storm of ingredients to render you unconscious. In fact, the list of the usual suspects when it comes to drowsiness should include mashed potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, bread, and pie for starters.
Why? Consuming large quantities of carbs causes a chain of events that’ll leave you wiped out. Carb-loading forces your body to release insulin en masse. When this happens, a variety of amino acids get absorbed from the bloodstream into your muscles. Except for tryptophan, that is.
Your Brain on Tryptophan
With all of those other amino acids out of the way, tryptophan can go straight for the brain and stimulate the production of serotonin and that wonderful sleepy feeling we associate with Thanksgiving. But remember, there’s more to it than turkey. Tryptophan from ham, beef, and chicken do the exact same thing. So does the tryptophan in cheddar.
What’s more, without the carb-loading prologue and insulin rush, tryptophan would have to compete with all of the other amino acids in your bloodstream. In a nutshell, not enough tryptophan would make it to the brain to have a significant impact on your serotonin levels.
Thanksgiving Myth Busting
When it’s all said and done, your level of sleepiness at the end of a Thanksgiving meal has more to do with the sum total of what you eat and drink than the turkey alone. So, stop hating on the turkey and get ready for that Thanksgiving nap.
By Engrid Barnett, contributor for Ripleys.com
Honoring America’s Heroes: A Car Covered In History
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Robert Luczun of Clifton, New Jersey, has covered his 1986 Chevrolet El Camino with paintings detailing the history of the United States of America. Reflecting over 240 years of history—since America’s founding in 1776—the car is covered in flags, battles, inventions, memorials, and cultural icons.
Clifton spent two years to get the car to this point, painting up to eight hours a day on the car, all by hand. He hopes his art can help enhance the historic character of American culture and enhance people’s perspective of their heritage. Not just focused on the past, however, he’s left empty spaces to fill in as the future unfolds.
Clifton not only takes the vehicle to car shows and public events, but also emphasizes his presence at military hospitals, VFW centers, and military base recovery units. Believe it or not, actual sand from the beaches of Iwo Jima is embedded in the paint next to the Marine memorial on the hood.
From conga-dancing dogs and bicycling ballerinas, to hair-raising feats of strength and death-defying motorcycle stunts, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! A Century of Strange! is sure to delight readers of all ages. With over 1,200 weird-but-true stories from around the world and 256 pages of wild and wonderful photography, this year’s collection of all things odd is not-to-be-missed.
Don’t miss out on being an ODDthority on everything strange, get your copy on Amazon today!
November 14, 2018
Oath Skull From The Secret Courts Of Westphalia
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
The Vehmic Courts of Westphalia—a region in Northwest Germany—have a dark and secretive past. Often referred to as the “Forbidden Courts” for their secrecy, these bodies of semi-vigilante judges had the power to dole out executions.
While regional nobles and local lords vied for power throughout Germany, the Vehmic courts alone continued to derive their power solely from the Holy Roman Emperors through the middle ages and into the 19th century.
If someone was to be summoned to court, a note was nailed to their door, or to a local tree or landmark. Once the accused arrived, they were made to swear on a holy relic—often a skull like the one shown here. Inscribed on these artifacts were engravings of mystical letters. The first pair of “S”’s stood for Stein and Strick—meaning Stone and Rope. “G+G” stood for Gras and Grein—grass and grief. Seemingly optional—evidenced by other skulls from the time period—an additional “S+S” could represent Sacrificium Sanctum—sacred sacrifice.
While the court of free judges decided the fate of the person before them, they were not required to have any transparency. Their many rituals and etiquettes were formulated by the secret societies that the judges belonged to, and anyone who meddled in their affairs could be executed on the spot.
If they issued a guilty verdict, it often meant execution. Lynching was the most popular form of capital punishment. After the hanging, the deceased’s body was hung from a local tree and often stuck with a ceremonial dagger inscribed with “magic” runes. The body was used to serve as a warning, and the dagger to indicate it was the court’s handiwork.
Since the dealings of the court were kept such closely guarded secrets and steeped in seemingly arbitrary rites of initiation and ceremony, they became hotbeds for corruption. Today Vehmic courts are used to describe something’s likeness to mob rule or lynching in Germany. It was Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother, Jerome Bonaparte who officially disbanded the courts during his short reign as King of Westphalia in 1811.
November 13, 2018
Pele’s Curse: The Hawaiian Goddess Punishes Thieves
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
“My life literally fell apart,” he said. One minute, he was an employed, law-abiding citizen and the next, he was sitting in a federal penitentiary. He couldn’t figure out what had happened. The FBI agents who questioned him said they never arrest people for what he did. They told him, “You really must have upset someone.”
He had. Timothy Murray of Florida had gone to Hawaii to accept a new job. When the job fell through, he took a trip to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. Like thousands before him, Mr. Murray was captivated by the black sand beaches and did what many other tourists often do…take some of that beautiful sand home as a souvenir.
Over the next three years, Mr. Murray’s life began to unravel. His beloved pet died. He and his fiancé broke up. He began to drink too much and finally, FBI agents, who said they had been tracking him from Hawaii, arrested him in a computer copyright infringement case.
Mr. Murray blames Pele—the Goddess of Volcanoes and Fire—who is renowned for her violent temper. Legend has it that her home, Mount Kilauea, is one of the Earth’s most active volcanoes. Pele considers volcanic rocks, black sand, and pumice to be her children and casts the weight of her wrath on those who remove any from the islands.
All Kinds of Stuff
Each year, postmasters at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park station and other local post offices receive thousands of pounds of mail often addressed to Queen Pele. It comes from people all over the world who write that they’ve had bad luck or calamities since returning home with their Hawaiian treasures and now want to return the offending items. They often ask for forgiveness and pray that once they send the items back to Pele, she will lift her curse so they can have their lives back. One postmaster who opens Pele’s mail says much of what is sent back is not even from Hawaii! Once they received what looked like a slag from someone’s furnace. They’ve gotten ceramic tiki heads, as well as bottles and containers filled with assorted wares and whatnots.
“Please take this sand and put it back somewhere on your island,” Mr. Murray wrote when he returned his sand. “I’ve had very bad luck since it came into my life and I am very sorry I took it. Please forgive me and I pray that once I send it back where it comes from, my bad luck will go away.” Letters like this arrive every month.
A Wrath or a Myth?
According to a park ranger at the Kilauea Visitor Center, the “curse” has no basis in Hawaiian culture. The claim is traced back to early tour guides and park rangers who wanted to discourage visitors from removing rocks. Some say it is the power of suggestion. That people get sick or experience a misfortune and then remember at some point, years earlier, they took a rock from the volcano.
But then again…is it simply just a myth? A mere claim by workers tired of visitors depleting Hawaii’s beautiful strands of rock and sand? Or is the curse for real? Either way, would you be willing to take the chance of upsetting Pele, the notorious Goddess of Fire? I believe not.
By Kara Killen, contributor for Ripleys.com
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