Ripley Entertainment Inc.'s Blog, page 326
August 12, 2018
August 11, 2018
August 10, 2018
Could The “Missing Link” Be Oliver, An Alleged Human-Chimp Hybrid?
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
The 1970s sideshow circuit gave audiences the chance to meet Oliver—a chimpanzee like no other. In fact, Oliver was so different from other chimpanzees that he was thought to be partially human.
Brought to the US from Africa, Oliver was presented as the “missing link” between the two species. The bold claim was made that he possessed 47 chromosomes, one more than man and one less than a typical chimpanzee. Regardless of this ploy to sell tickets, Oliver was indeed different.
The suspected human-chimp-hybrid appeared to look human and was even adorned with a pattern of baldness. He had a soft voice and his demeanor was quite charming with the ladies. From living with his trainers, he quickly learned how to use tools, do chores, and picked up on human habits like drinking coffee. Oliver even walked upright.
Oliver the Chimpanzee and South African animal handler Frank Burger before the press on March 14, 1976 in New York City. The chimpanzee was four and a half feet tall and 125 pounds, and was said to have had 47 chromosomes, one less than apes and one more than humans.
Although uncharacteristic of his species, genetic claims were debunked in 1996, when the University of Chicago revealed that Oliver had the same number of chromosomes as all other chimpanzees.
The Possibility
The rumors of a successful hybrid persist.
Most recently, evolutionary psychologist Gordon Gallup recalled such an experiment to The Sun. According to the story, scientists became concerned with the ethical dilemmas the offspring would bring up, so they allegedly killed it in a panic. Gallup doesn’t claim to have witnessed the experiment, but insists that another trusted colleague told him it was true.
Regardless of if you believe Gallup’s story or not, we do share 99 per cent of the same DNA with chimpanzees and hybrids are pretty common in the animal kingdom. Humanzees would have much greater social implications than a liger or labradoodle, but who’s to say it’s not possible…
Source: Could The “Missing Link” Be Oliver, An Alleged Human-Chimp Hybrid?
Cows Corner Criminal In Police Helicopter Chase
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
[August 5-11th, 2018] A giant dominoes display ruined by a fly, Amish Uber, a gator graduate, and crime-fighting cows!
Amish Uber
Utilizing just a horse and buggy, Timothy Hochstedler of Colon, Michigan, has started his own Amish Uber. Following tradition, there’s no app or mobile ride-hailing, so riders must simply flag him down like a taxi. The ride-sharing super-giant has yet to comment, but people in town are responding positively, noting that they love there’s no surge pricing. Rides are always just $5.
Darn Kids
Residents in West Boise, Idaho, were grasping at straws as they tried to explain why a herd of about 100 goats grazed in their neighborhoods. Believe it or not, the goats were a group of escaped lawnmowers, meant to eat the grass surrounding a nearby pond. Their rampage lasted a few hours before the goat rental company managed to get the kids off people’s lawns.
#Breaking – About 100 goats are on the loose right now in a #Boise neighborhood. They are going house to house eating everything in sight. Nobody has a clue where they came from…updates to follow pic.twitter.com/K0ghUwQEfk
— Joe Parris (@KTVBJoe) August 3, 2018
Gator Graduation
Graduating with a Wildlife Ecology degree from Texas A&M, Mackenzie Noland wanted her graduation photos to be taken with her best friend—a 13-foot 8-inch alligator named Big Tex. Noland interned at Gator Country wildlife park towards the end of her schooling, becoming fascinated with the 1,000-pound reptile. She can tickle his nose, give him kisses, and even balanced her class ring on his nose.
Fly Ruins 600,000 Dominoes Attempt
Patrick Sinner and a cohort of 20 dominoes enthusiasts thought they were making the biggest dominoes display ever when a single fly destroyed their weeks of work and months of planning. The dominoes were tiny—about the size of a fingernail—making them incredibly susceptible to any movement. The crew was several hundred-thousand in when the fly set off the chain reaction, leaving them no time to set back up. Believe it or not, it took a full 15 minutes for all of the pieces to fall down.
Cows Corner Criminal
A Florida woman was being pursued by police in vehicles and helicopters after she stole a car. Ditching the car, she leaped into a cow pasture to flee on foot. Unlucky for her, these cows don’t take too kindly to intruders or criminals. The cows chased the perp down, cornering her against a fence where law enforcement took her into custody.
Our Alert team assisted the Sanford Police Department on Sunday, tracking down two suspects who crashed a stolen car, bailed out and ran. A herd of cattle provided law enforcement a big assist, repeatedly following and helping corral one who strayed on to their turf!
Posted by Seminole County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday, August 7, 2018
August 9, 2018
The Truth About Van Gogh’s Severed Ear
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: How did Van Gogh lose his ear?
It’s common knowledge that Vincent van Gogh cut off his ear, but what scholars are still trying to piece together is why the Dutch artist was driven to such a desperate act and whether he was the one who actually did it.
Van Gogh battled depression and anxiety, and some scholars think he exhibited symptoms of bipolar disorder. One widely accepted theory is that van Gogh had a fight with French post-impressionist artist Paul Gauguin that precipitated the dismemberment on Dec. 23, 1888. After the argument, van Gogh went insane and severed his ear with a razor blade. But is this really what happened?
His Brother’s Engagement News May Have Put Him Over The Edge
Most historians agree that the painter had a breakdown, but author Martin Bailey thinks van Gogh was driven to this extreme measure because he learned his dear brother Theo was getting married. Bailey explains in the book, Studio of the South: Van Gogh in Provence, that the artist was scared that his sibling would desert him and stop supporting him emotionally and financially.
Vincent (left), Theo (right)
Some scholars think van Gogh found out about his brother’s wedding plans after he cut off his ear, but Bailey is adamant that the painter learned the news the same day he sliced off his appendage. The proof? There’s a letter written by van Gogh in January 1889 that mentions receiving money from Theo on Dec. 23, and Bailey is convinced the painter learned of his brother’s engagement on the same date.
“At a deeper level, there may possibly have been an element of jealousy; Theo had succeeded in finding love, whereas Vincent had failed to sustain long-term relationships,” explains Bailey.
Gauguin May Have Lopped It Off With A Sword
Another theory is that van Gogh lied about cutting off his own ear and Gauguin was actually responsible for the gruesome deed. The pair had a terrible argument, and Gauguin, a fencer, sliced it off with a sword. Van Gogh was obsessed with Gauguin and didn’t want him to get in trouble for the violent act, so he made up a story about cutting it off himself.
Paul Gauguin
German historians Hans Kaufmann and Rita Wildegans wrote Pact of Silence, which centers on the incident. They believe van Gogh was devastated that Gauguin was planning to leave Arles to return to Paris, and the painter went into a rage when Gauguin announced his plans. Van Gogh then attacked his friend, who had no choice but to defend himself.
“We do not know for sure if the blow was an accident or a deliberate attempt to injure van Gogh, but it was dark and we suspect that Gauguin did not intend to hit his friend,” Kaufmann told ABC News.
Gauguin left the day after van Gogh lost his ear. He never saw van Gogh again, but they did exchange letters. In his first letter to Gauguin, van Gogh wrote some telling words: “I will keep quiet about this and so will you.”
Van Gogh also mentioned Gauguin in a letter to his brother Theo, noting that it was lucky Gauguin didn’t possess any firearms and that he had strong “passions.”
Did Van Gogh Give The Ear To A Prostitute Or A Maid Maimed By A Rabid Dog?
It’s largely been reported that after losing his ear van Gogh gave it to a prostitute named Rachel who worked at a local brothel. Historian Bernadette Murphy, author of Van Gogh’s Ear: The True Story, believes the recipient of the ear was a maid who was disfigured from a dog bite. Van Gogh may have been deluded into thinking that he could help heal the girl by giving her a piece of his own flesh.
Murphy uncovered evidence revealing that a young woman named Gabrielle was attacked by a rabid dog one year earlier and cleaned the brothel to earn money to pay her bills. She was notable for the scar on her arm, and it’s very possible she and van Gogh knew each other because their community was small. Whether he gave her his ear is still up to debate.
Did Van Gogh Lose His Lobe Or Entire Ear?
It was long believed that Van Gogh only cut off part of his ear because his artist friend Paul Signac made the claim in a letter he wrote in 1921. Signac recalled van Gogh “cutting off the lobe and not the whole ear” in the correspondence. Upon investigation, Murphy discovered Signac never actually saw van Gogh’s wound because it was covered in a bandage.
In addition, van Gogh’s self-portraits showed his head covered in heavy-duty dressing, indicating the damage was quite significant and there was likely a lot of blood loss. Van Gogh, who spent two weeks at the hospital in recovery, also wrote letters about the infection and fever he endured in the aftermath. If he had simply cut off the earlobe, his recovery would have been much quicker and less complicated.
Self-portrait after the incident.
Murphy’s book also includes a diagram of van Gogh’s ear taken from a handwritten letter by Dr. Félix Rey, who treated the painter in the hospital. It shows that the artist severed not just his left earlobe but his entire ear.
Rey gave the illustration to American writer Irving Stone, who visited Arles in 1930 while working on a biographical novel.
“I am happy to give you the information you have requested concerning my unfortunate friend,” Rey wrote in French on the note. “I sincerely hope that you won’t fail to glorify the genius of this remarkable painter, as he deserves.”
Van Gogh is known for paintings such as “The Starry Night,” “Irises,” “The Night Café” and “Sunflowers.” He took his own life in 1890 at the age of 37.
Odd Is Art
Want to get your hands dirty? Flex your own art muscles 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 the sun. 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 Noelle Talmon, contributor for Ripleys.com
August 8, 2018
Is Stopping A Hurricane Even Possible?
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Since the dawn of time, man has felt the deadly effects of storms. From legends of the sunken city of Atlantis to the real-world devastation of hurricanes like Katrina and Irma, it would make sense that humankind would consider ways of stopping these catastrophic weather events from happening. When it comes to hurricanes, there’s no shortage of schemes and plots to stop them from wreaking havoc.
Toss an Iceberg In
While meteorologists admit that we still have a lot to learn about the inner workings of hurricanes and typhoons, they know that warm water is like fuel for these storms. To combat the warm waters underneath a hurricane, many have suggested towing an iceberg into the center of a storm.
While no one has tried to haul an iceberg from the cold Arctic to the sweltering Caribbean to stop a hurricane, attempts to bring icebergs to Africa as a supply of fresh, cold water have been attempted multiple times. Unfortunately, the logistics of lugging an iceberg have never worked out, and this hurricane-fighting scheme has never been tested. Furthermore, there’s no proof that an iceberg would adequately cool ocean temperatures enough to slow down a hurricane. Environmentalists also warn that an iceberg big enough to adequately lower water temperatures could have unknown effects on sea life.
The Nuclear Option
Every year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) gets hundreds of inquiries as to why they don’t simply blow hurricanes up with nuclear bombs. The request is so common, that they have a dedicated webpage to let people know why that wouldn’t be a good idea.
They basically explain that the force of the blast would have to cancel out the wind energy of the storm. Unfortunately, the amount of energy released by a fully developed hurricane is roughly equivalent to a 10-megaton bomb going off every 20 minutes—and that’s measuring the heat output alone. They go on to explain that the blast would disperse air in the storm, making the barometric pressure drop—likely making the storm worse.
Like the iceberg method, the environmental effects are unknown, but weather experts have warned that the nuclear fallout could be carried straight onto land by a surviving storm.
Pumping Up Cold Water
With the idea of an iceberg seeming exceedingly impractical, engineers have suggested using cold ocean water from deep below the ocean’s warm surface. They propose a fleet of pumps with giant pipes that would pull up cold water to weaken the storm.
Tech billionaire Bill Gates actually put up serious funds to research this method. The plan was to use the ocean waves to power the pumps themselves. Hundreds of these devices would have to be deployed across hundreds of miles of ocean to provide what they cited as a necessary 4.5° F drop in surface temperatures to slow a tropical cyclone. Though the company stands by its plan as possible, experts agree that it likely isn’t a feasible solution.
Black Dust
If it’s not practical to cool a hurricane down, would making it warmer slow it down? The Journal of Applied Meteorology published a theory for stopping hurricanes using black carbon—byproducts from burning fossil fuels. The idea was to dump tons of carbon dust into the hurricane wall, increasing the amount of heat it absorbed from the sun. The black particles would hold heat better than clear water.
The team of scientists behind the theory thought that by putting the carbon along the storm’s eyewall, they could cause it to artificially collapse as it became too warm too quickly and tore itself apart. The cost of a seeding maneuver was estimated to be less than $5 million, which many argue is a good deal compared to the billions of dollars in damage major hurricanes can cause. Many consider this method to be promising, but NOAA discounts it for lack of proof and a general skepticism that it could affect something the size of a hurricane at all.
Project Stormfury
While there are a lot of untested ideas floating around about how to stop hurricanes, the United States government had an official task force assigned to researching the problem for years. Pioneers in the study of hurricanes, they perfected the aircraft used to monitor tropical cyclones today, and are responsible for much of what we know about what happens in the eye of a hurricane.
In 1947, they actually attempted to stop hurricane King. While most of their experiments used silver iodide to seed the outer rim of eyewalls to cause a collapse—in theory—they used dry ice in this real-world attempt. The storm had already clipped south Florida as it moved up the US east coast, so they thought it was safe to try their experiment.
A single plane dropped 180 pounds of crushed dry ice into the clouds, and immediately noticed changes in the clouds. Tragically, the storm proceeded to make a u-turn back at the coast and devastated Georgia. Weather experts don’t think the crew’s actions caused any change in the storm, but the public blamed the project for the turn. Cloud seeding hurricanes became highly controversial in the years to come.
The group conducted more tests, but delays, budget cuts, and public stigma eventually ended the project in 1971.
August 7, 2018
Bathroom Reading: “Moby Dick” Typed On Six Rolls Of Toilet Paper
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Herman Melville’s whale-hunting epic is one of the cornerstones of American literature. The narrator introduces us to colorful characters like the carpet-wearing, harpoon-throwing, Queequeg; the good-humored second mate able to cleave through an entire whale’s head with a knife, Stubb; and the avenging peg-legged captain of the Pequod, Ahab.
Though Melville finished his magnum opus in 1851, by his death—40 years later—barely anyone had seen the novel for what it was. To his contemporaries, Melville wasn’t seen as much of a success. Moby Dick only made him about $1,300, and all of the books he had written during his life were out of print by the time he died. By the 1920s, however, his book became known as the greatest American novel.
Moby Dick has since been published countless times in various editions and read by people from all over the world, but one artist decided to make a very unique edition. Dennis Malone of Palm Springs, Florida, has made a copy printed on toilet paper.
The entire text contains over 200,000 words, meaning it took six rolls to cover the whole novel. Malone spent countless hours typing by hand on clean rolls of two-ply paper. All of the text was typed by hand, and Malone used the original dialect, even including helpful footnote references throughout for a no-compromises reading experience.
According to the Toilet Paper Encyclopedia, the average person uses 8.6 sheets per trip—meaning Malone’s novel should last nearly 350 reading sessions.
Odd Is Art
Have your own idea for an odd art project? 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!
Ripley’s and Deviant Art’s Unconventional Art contest is open now through August 20th.
Source: Bathroom Reading: “Moby Dick” Typed On Six Rolls Of Toilet Paper
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