Ripley Entertainment Inc.'s Blog, page 372
December 13, 2017
Meet Santa Claus’s Scary Friends
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Inspired by elements of various pagan figures in Europe, jolly old Santa Claus has a whole host of strange and scary friends across many diverse traditions. While Santa Claus rewards kids for behaving, most of these other holiday horrors serve to punish naughty children.
Belsnickel
A fur-clad bear of a man wearing grubby clothes, der Belsnickel hails from Switzerland and Germany but is celebrated among America’s Pennsylvania-Dutch as well. Belsnickel arrives unannounced during the winter, knocking on the windows with his trusty switch.
After corralling fleeing children together, he asks each one whether they have been naughty or nice. A straightforward confession of guilt earned them a swat on the knuckles, but a lie provoked his wrath. Once finished with the punishments, he gives them a small gift and then disappears.
The Christmas Woman
An alternative figure for Belsnickel is the Christmas woman. A haunting pale figure, she throws candy on the ground, and as children rush to pick it up, she swats their backs with a broom.
The Yule Cat
Originating as far back as the Middle Ages in Iceland, the Yule cat gobbles up people who haven’t gotten any new clothes before the New Year. This tradition has its roots in making sure the wool processing was done on time across the country, and that children behave well enough to get clothes for Christmas.
The Yule Cat is supposedly the pet of Gryla the giant, and stands as tall as buildings, allowing it to peer in windows to check that people are wearing new clothes.
Zwarte Piet
An increasingly controversial Christmas character, Zwarte Piet—also known as Black Peter—is a tag-along helper to the Netherland’s version of Santa. He helps Santa deliver presents, and is typically portrayed by people wearing blackface makeup.
Historians trace his origins to a devil tamed by Saint Nicholas, who would have been covered in ash and soot. Legend has it that Peter will drag naughty children away to Spain.
Krampus
Celebrated across the Alps, Krampus is perhaps Santa’s most popular counterpart. Krampus is a horned, goat-like devil who carries switches and a sack, scaring children into behaving. While Santa is spreading joy and cheer to children, Krampus is scaring those who landed on the naughty list.
If a flogging with his switches isn’t enough, he may even whisk them away to eat later.
Perchta
Also known as the Christmas witch, Perchta is a shape-changer who enforces a strict no-spinning rule during the holidays. If you were well-behaved, she might leave you a present, but if you went against any of the season’s traditions—such as eating something other than fish and gruel—she would stuff your stomach with straw.
CC Holger Schmitt
Source: Meet Santa Claus’s Scary Friends
December 12, 2017
December 11, 2017
Human Unicorns Are Real
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
While the search for the mythical horned horse of legend continues, Robert Ripley found his first human unicorn in 1930.
Ripley discovered a photograph of a Manchurian farmer known only as Wang. A massive 13-inch horn was growing straight out of the back of Wang’s head, and he was the first of the human unicorns found by Ripley.
Ripley traveled to China in the following years but never managed to meet Wang in person. The evidence for this seemingly mythical man was confirmed not just by the photo and hearsay, however, but by the handful of other unicorns, Ripley encountered in his travels and research.
Among the many confirmed cases of humans growing horns, an old woman in France had her horn cut off and presented to the King of France in 1696. Another French woman, Madame Dimanche, grew a 9.8-inch horn over the course of six years. She also had a horn sprouting from her wrist. At age 82, her horn was successfully removed by a surgeon.
Cause for Human HornsClinically labeled cutaneous horns, some can be merely superficial, while others can be the product of malignant cancer cells. Roughly 20% of recorded cases have been determined to be malignant, and are typically sensitive, unlike non-malignant cases.
These growths are composed of a protein called keratin. Growing ostensibly as a tumor, the body’s cells begin rapidly producing keratin, and expelling it into horn-like structures. Keratin is not only the same protein that makes up human fingernails and hair but also what makes up most animal horns.
Cause and Treatment
Due to the rarity of the disease, it hasn’t been well studied, and the cause is still undetermined. Radiation exposure and viruses in the HPV family have both been suggested as likely culprits.
Removal is simple, surgeons simply cut the horns off of patients. Many horns, however, grow back if not treated with radiation or chemotherapy.
The Hammerhead
A different kind of human unicorn, John Ferraro develops a unicorn-like knot on his forehead using his skull to hammer nails, snap chains, and break boards!
Source: Human Unicorns Are Real
December 10, 2017
December 9, 2017
December 8, 2017
A New Ripley’s Holiday Tradition
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Robert Ripley famously loved Christmas, mailing unbelievably detailed, hand-illustrated cards to his colleagues and loved ones each year. Today, at Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, we’ve kept up the tradition—from Nights of Lights in St. Augustine to gingerbread dream homes in Hollywood!
This year, we’ve gotten into the holiday spirit with the 86th annual Hollywood Christmas Parade. However, they don’t only call it “Hollyweird” for Ripley’s. Los Angeles hosts quite a few strange ways to spark the season!
The Surfing Santa Contest – Surf, sun and Santa shredding? Perhaps jolly old Saint Nick vacations in Orange County prior to the stressful holiday season! Each year in Dana Point hundreds of Santa-dressed surfers take to the waves to benefit Surfers Healing, a non-profit that helps get kids on the spectrum into the water.
Charles Phoenix’s Retro Holiday Slide Show – Kitsch king Phoenix presents the very best flea market-found vintage holiday slides. Yes, you can forgo your own family photo albums and revel in the roasting and toasting of families from the 1950s and 60s.
L. Ron Hubbard’s Winter Wonderland – Scientology Santa can only be found in Hollywood! On the south side of Hollywood Boulevard (just a stone’s throw from the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium) you can find a campy Christmas wonderland presented by the controversial religious organization, the Church of Scientology. Some say this strange tradition began when founder L. Ron Hubbard donated a tree to the city in 1983, while others view the attraction as a promotional stunt.
Ripley’s in the Parade
One of the most longstanding holiday traditions in Los Angeles, the Hollywood Christmas Parade, brought the Hollyweird this year. To get into the holiday spirit, Ripley’s had three-time National Gingerbread House Competition winner, Patricia Howard, create a 5-foot-tall gingerbread house for the lobby of the Hollywood Odditorium. Believe it or not, Patricia spent more than 300 hours creating this edible dream home!
Keeping with the theme, Ripley’s guided two larger-than-life gingerbread balloons along Hollywood Boulevard. Standing 23 feet tall, our gingerbread man balloon could contain 1,669,248 average-sized gingerbread cookies!
Leading the balloons was Ripley’s YouTube host Sabrina Sieck and a variety of performers—from a contortionist to acrobatic roller skater! Believe it or not, in Caracas, Venezuela, it is tradition to roller skate to Christmas mass!
That’s a Wrap!
Ripley’s proudest involvement was our donation of over $100,000 worth of Ripley books to Toys for Tots. To represent this donation, we constructed a stunning 12-foot-tall Christmas tree of books on the red carpet! (Don’t forget you can make your own Toys for Tots donation at Ripley’s locations around the country!)
If you’re looking for the perfect gift to give a loved ones, you can get 25% off tickets to our world-famous attractions this holiday season!
The Hollywood Christmas parade will air a two-hour special premiere nationally on the CW Friday, December 15, 8PM/7PM CT, with second airings throughout the holiday season. You can also catch the parade on the Hallmark Channel and American Forces Network.
Source: A New Ripley’s Holiday Tradition
7-Year-Old Drafted in Russian Military and Self-Service Waffle House
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
[December 3-9th, 2017]
5. Plane Lands for Bathroom Break
You probably know to use the restroom before you get on a plane, but after the bathrooms broke on a cross-country Delta flight, a pit stop was necessary. Passengers indulging in the complimentary water and soda from New York to Seattle couldn’t take it any longer—forcing the plane to land in Billings, Montana! There was no gate available, so ground crews had to quickly roll out a staircase for passengers to make a speedy egress.
4. Serve Yourself at Waffle House
After finishing a night of drinking, Alex Bowen of South Carolina headed to the Waffle House in Columbus for a late-night snack. Unfortunately, the staff was fast asleep. Not wanting to wake them, Bowen took matters into his own hands, helping himself to the kitchen and making a Texas bacon cheesesteak melt. He ate his meal, cleaned the grill, then went on his merry way.
3. YouTube Cements Head Inside Microwave
In what he thought might be a viral prank, Jay Swingler had his head cemented inside a microwave. His face was covered with a plastic bag and air was supplied by a tube, but he was stuck—unable to escape once the cement dried. After 90-minutes trying get free, emergency services were called. It took five firefighters to extricate him from the microwave.
We’re seriously unimpressed .
Five of our firefighters were tied up for an hour this afternoon, freeing a YouTube pranker whose head had been ‘cemented’ inside a microwave oven. Read more: https://t.co/6bZReGuKQX (Photos © West Midlands Fire Service) pic.twitter.com/2ch2UhszeH
— West Midlands Fire (@WestMidsFire) December 7, 2017
2. Intergalactic Pizza Devouring Squad
Pizza delivery hasn’t made it to the International Space Station (yet), but astronauts get the occasional craving. After receiving ingredients via delivery rocket, they made their own! The pizzas fly around slow-motion like frisbees thanks to the microgravity of space.
1. 7-Year-Old Drafted into Russian Military
In an apparent mistake, a 7-year-old boy named Sasha was drafted into the Russian military. After receiving a letter asking him to report for duty, his family was stunned. They’ve promised to take him in for assignment, but Sasha protests he wants to be a police officer, not a soldier.
Source: 7-Year-Old Drafted in Russian Military and Self-Service Waffle House
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