Ripley Entertainment Inc.'s Blog, page 325
August 16, 2018
Dive Into This Aquatic Dreambox Made Entirely From Paper
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Brittany Cox of Seattle, Washington, has made a piece of art that captures the ethereal serenity and depth of the ocean using carefully cut scraps of paper. She calls them Dreamboxes—frames filled with layers of intricately cut paper that form a three-dimensional image, and they have landed her in our book dedicated to strange and amazing art, Odd Is Art.
Cox has fashioned herself as the artist Behind Badger Burrow Dreamboxes. The pieces she creates showcase her exquisite paper-craft, layering several sheets of paper on top of each other, giving each piece real depth. The frames are then lit from behind, creating a dreamlike, ethereal display.
Just for the Ripley’s collection, Cox made her biggest Dreambox yet—an underwater scene featuring an eagle ray, a curious diver, a streaming school of curious fish, and a shark all framed with sprawling coral. The box measures 18 by 24 inches and is 20 layers of paper deep, making it truly feel like your gazing into the depths of a mesmerizing ocean!
Odd Is Art
Do you also create unique art? Share your strange creations and enter Deviant Art’s Unconventional Art Contest. You can win a trip for two to Orlando to join the Ripley Art team for a day—not to mention a slew of other exclusive prizes like a trip to LA and a chance for your work to be featured in Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
It’s easy: create some Odd Art inspired by our book, Odd Is Art. Using a mix of materials is encouraged. Ripley artists have used everything from duct tape to gunpowder, even layers of intricately cut paper, like Brittany Cox. Just embrace the odd and create!
Ripley’s and Deviant Art’s Unconventional Art contest is open now through August 20th. Check out the official rules, prizing, and most importantly, inspiration.
Source: Dive Into This Aquatic Dreambox Made Entirely From Paper
Can A Shark Really Smell A Drop Of Blood From A Mile Away?
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: Can sharks smell blood from a mile away?
The Scent of Blood
Even though there’s just a 1 in 3.7 million chance of being killed by a shark, people are so fearful of the predators that they’ve developed myths about them—such as their ability to smell a tiny drop of blood from miles away.
While sharks do have a strong sense of smell, this statement is largely overblown. Some sharks can identify blood a quarter-mile away, but the scent doesn’t reach them instantaneously or necessarily cause them to attack.
Sharks have a heightened sense of smell and olfactory system that is hundreds of times stronger than a human’s. Their nostrils, located beneath their snouts, are used only for smelling and not for breathing. They do have the capacity to detect tiny amounts of various compounds in the water. Some types of sharks, such as the lemon shark, can even detect a scent in a large swimming pool or a substance that is several hundred meters away.
But a shark more than a quarter-mile away won’t smell your blood and decide to make you into a yummy snack. Smells reach a shark through the currents, and it would take time for the scent to travel that distance to a shark’s nostrils. The motion of the ocean carries smell molecules with it, so, the more motion, the faster the smell will travel.
If you do start to bleed while swimming in the ocean, there is some time to get safely to shore in case a rogue shark decides to attack.
Sharks really don’t like human meat and generally aren’t interested in the bodily fluids people excrete. “You can smell a landfill, but it won’t make you want to eat it,” noted Dr. Steve Kajiura of Florida Atlantic University’s Shark Lab.
The lemon shark, for example, can detect a small drop of blood in the water. But they are particular about what they eat. They enjoy munching on bony fish, mollusks, and crustaceans. Sometimes they will eat a seabird or a small shark. Humans are not on the menu.
A lemon shark giving a diver a sniff.
Menstruating women can also relax. At most, a woman will secrete 80 ml of blood (around 6 tablespoons) and not all at once. To top it all off, according to National Geographic, 93 percent of shark attacks around the world between 1580 and 2010 were on males.
An average of 10 people die a year in shark attacks, which are usually the result of mistaken identity. Some types of sharks whose diet consists of sea lions and seals may bite a human to see what he or she tastes like. That test bite can be fatal because a shark’s numerous teeth can cause uncontrollable bleeding.
By Noelle Talmon contributor for Ripleys.com
Source: Can A Shark Really Smell A Drop Of Blood From A Mile Away?
August 15, 2018
The Soviet’s Tsar Bomba: The King Of Bombs
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
The Soviet RDS-220 hydrogen bomb—codenamed Ivan—is known in the west as Tsar Bomba: the King of Bombs. It is the most powerful explosive ever created and has only ever been tested once.
The Tsar Bomba was tested in 1961 inside the Arctic circle. It was so heavy that it had to be loaded onto a specially modified plane. Under normal circumstances, the plane couldn’t carry it in its missile bay, and would not have enough fuel to deliver it to the target. The plane was also painted white to help against thermal damage—though they were given a 50% chance of survival.
The bomber and a small observation plane were the only ones to observe the bomb going off up close. Thankfully, both survived, living to speak of what they saw and return with a few photographs of the man-made disaster.
The Explosion
Detonating 13,000 feet above the ground, Tsar Bomba released 1,570 times the combined energy of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs dropped on Japan during World War II. The yield was equivalent 10 times the energy released by conventional explosives during the War and equaled about a quarter of the eruption force of the Krakatoa volcano’s eruption in 1883. To date, it accounts for 10% of all energy released during nuclear weapons testing.
The fireball was 5 miles in diameter, and the mushroom cloud reached 35 miles into the sky. The heat was enough to cause 3rd degree burns 62 miles away, and windows were shattered as far away as Norway and Finland because of the blast. Despite the ferocity of Tsar Bomba, no human lives were lost in the test.
Though the bomb yielded a blast equivalent to 50 megatons of TNT, it could have theoretically doubled that with a small modification. To limit the amount of fallout caused by the test, Soviet engineers fitted the bomb with a lead tamper, rather than one made using uranium. The tamper helps reflect neutrons ejected during fission to prolong reaction, but a uranium tamper using the U-238 isotope would have resulted in a theorized 100 megaton reaction.
Once tested, no plans to actually use the Tsar Bomba class hydrogen bomb were ever made. The extra casings meant to contain the bomb are now in Russian museums.
August 14, 2018
Up Close With A Mammoth Tooth
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Among the many ancient artifacts of the Ripley’s collection are a number of very large teeth. These teeth once belonged to wooly mammoths. Wooly mammoths roamed the earth for about 5 million years, during the Pliocene and Holocene Epochs. They could stand up to 13 feet high and weigh over 26,000 pounds. They had an articulating snout, much like an elephant’s, but were covered in a thick layer of wooly hair to protect themselves from chilling conditions.
Their giant, bulky teeth were what biologists refer to as hypsodont molars. They had a single, large tooth on either side of their jaw. These teeth were simple masses of enamel, allowing them to grind up gritty and fibrous vegetation with ease. Weighing an average of around five pounds today, mammoth teeth extended far out of their gums to provide a large surface for years of wear and tear. Only a few inches of the spikey root of the tooth attached it into the mammoth’s jaw, the rest—the crown—was exposed.
Mammoths were built for cold temperatures, thriving in arctic conditions of -60° Fahrenheit. On vast, icy wastelands they sought any vegetation they could, grinding it up with their teeth. Climate change, as well as human hunting, is largely blamed for their extinction. Their numbers quickly dwindled as they were driven toward the poles of the planet where they struggled to find food and became easier to corner during hunts. Believe it or not, however, evidence of a small group of mammoths living on St. Paul Island in Alaska has put them as surviving until 3,750 BC.
Though early humans are known to have hunted mammoths, they forgot about their existence in the succeeding millennia. The area that is now the North Sea in Europe became one of the first sites where mammoth teeth were found. The area would have been passable by mammoth on foot thousands of years ago, but as the glacier receded, this left mammoth remains to be washed over by the waves of the ocean. Tumbling like rocks, some of these teeth washed up on European shores after storms. Without any history of mammoths, these teeth were often thought to belong to giants, breeding new fantastical stories and mysteries.
By the 18th and 19th centuries, scientists had a better grasp of how the ancient world looked, and whole examples of mammoths were found frozen in Siberia and the Brea Tar Pits. Mega-sized creatures like the wooly mammoth and its close cousin the mastodon went on to be instrumental in our understanding of mass extinction events and what causes them.
Source: Up Close With A Mammoth Tooth
This Artist’s Food Photography Is Out Of This World
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
When viewing the work of photographer Navid Baraty one might think they are peering through a telescope into the vast mysteries of space. Blue bodies that look like planets, sparkling flecks that appear to be stars, and even pitted an cratered asteroids seem to lurk in the shadows. Despite looking like celestial snapshots, Baraty is photographing food.
Baraty once worked as an engineer, but left that life behind to become a prolific photographer. While he snaps his shutter for a variety of clients, his oddest work is in food photography. His series is called the Wander Space Probe and looks as though it required a far-seeing telescope. No such satellite exists, however. He creates these marvelous displays of cosmic possibility by carefully arranging bits of food.
Making planets with coconut milk and food coloring, he adds texture with salt, cinnamon, and other spices. He usually makes stars from baking soda. He captures his images on a flat-bed scanner, leaving the lid open to create darkness.
“While they are purely fictional, I like to think that perhaps my creations actually could exist somewhere in the vast unknown of the cosmos.” —Navid Baraty
Odd Is Art
Do you also create with a unique medium? Share your strange creations and enter Deviant Art’s Unconventional Art Contest. You can win a trip for two to Orlando to join the Ripley Art team for a day—not to mention a slew of other exclusive prizes like a trip to LA and a chance for your work to be featured in Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
It’s easy: create some Odd Art inspired by our book, Odd Is Art. Using a mix of materials is encouraged. Ripley artists have used everything from duct tape to gunpowder, even spices like Navid Baraty. Just embrace the odd and create!
Ripley’s and Deviant Art’s Unconventional Art contest is open now through August 20th. Check out the official rules, prizing, and most importantly, inspiration.
August 13, 2018
Got Milk? Dressing In Dairy Does The Body Good!
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Milk does a body good, but can you wear it? German microbiologist and fashion designer, Anke Domaske, says yes! She uses dried milk powder to create silky, soft QMilk fabric. She’s even incorporated the textile into her fashion label Mademoiselle Chi Chi, worn by celebrities including Ashlee Simpson and Mischa Barton.
What’s so great about milk-based fabric? QMilk relies on 100 percent natural fibers that feel as soft as silk. They boast thermo-bonding properties which makes them easy to combine with other natural fibers without the use of synthetic phenolic resins or plastics. What’s more, QMilk fibers contain natural antibiotic properties. The fibers are temperature regulating and even compostable.
Courtesy QMilk Fibers
Got Milk?
Why did Domaske decide to utilize milk to create fabrics? It started with her quest to find chemically untreated clothes for her stepfather who suffered from cancer. But her “eureka” moment came after learning that Germany, alone, throws away more than two million tons of milk each year. Not suitable for human consumption, disposal of the milk requires an expensive process. Put another way, waste led to more waste.
Courtesy QMilk Fibers
Domaske’s concept of utilizing milk in innovative ways had predecessors. In the 1930s, German scientists worked to create useful products from milk protein. But World War II halted their progress. Their work remained largely forgotten until Domaske decided to start experimenting.
She set eco-friendly standards that previous experimenters did not, looking for processes that required little water and energy consumption. She also wanted to invent a system that resulted in no waste. Like other startups, she started humbly, although not in the garage but, rather, her kitchen. Over time, she built a lab that cost about 200 Euros. She bought all necessary supplies from the grocery store including a large jam thermometer to measure water temperature.
Fashionable Results
Despite starting out in her kitchen, she created a fabric that’s not only eco-friendly but quickly manufactured. Her patented, specially-designed spinning process makes the transformation from milk to clothes sustainable and green. According to Vogue, the clothes, “feature soft and sensuous lines and basic colors, enriched with elegant drapery.”
So, how much will a bovine-derived dress cost you? According to Domaske, six liters of milk (1.6 gallons of milk) can produce a dress costing between $175 to $250 euros. Not bad! Besides high-end fashion, Domaske is also working on a line of cosmetics and the world’s first 100% natural plastic—all derived from milk.
Pushing the Envelope on Milk Products
Besides fashionable threads, milk proteins make for great skincare products. QMilk’s line of earth-friendly cosmetics features natural peptides that Domaske claims protect and regulate skin. Since the products are 100 percent organic, they’re great for sensitive skin as they don’t contain chemicals and irritants such as glycerol and alcohol.
QMilk’s also working on a 100 percent biodegradable plastic. Naturally antibacterial, it composts in a few months with no telltale residue. It’s also flame retardant, low density, and skin-friendly. (Remember those cosmetics we discussed a little bit ago?) According to Naturally Organix, Domaske has created, “an organic polymer free of solvents, plasticizers, and adminids… so all conventional plastics from petroleum can be replaced.” In 2015, Domaske received the Green Tec Award for her groundbreaking research.
Courtesy QMilk Fibers
Milk Tech
With a worldwide reputation for innovation, QMilk continues to redefine sustainability. Domaske’s eco-friendly fashion and skin care products are already setting a high standard for other companies looking to produce goods with a small carbon footprint and zero waste.
What’s more, QMilk’s foray into plastics comes at the perfect moment to address waste management issues around the world. Clearly, milk does more than a body good.
Odd Is Art
Do you also create with a unique medium? Share your strange creations and enter Deviant Art’s Unconventional Art Contest. You can win a trip for two to Orlando to join the Ripley Art team for a day—not to mention a slew of other exclusive prizes like a trip to LA and a chance for your work to be featured in Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
It’s easy: create some Odd Art inspired by our book, Odd Is Art. Using a mix of materials is encouraged. Ripley artists have used everything from duct tape to gunpowder, even milk like Anke Domaske. Just embrace the odd and create!
Ripley’s and Deviant Art’s Unconventional Art contest is open now through August 20th. Check out the official rules, prizing, and most importantly, inspiration.
By Engrid Barnett, contributor for Ripleys.com
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