Ripley Entertainment Inc.'s Blog, page 402
July 5, 2017
Lady of Cao’s Gets Facial Reconstruction
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
More than 1700 years ago, the 20-something-year-old, Lady of Cao, ruled over a desert valley in ancient Peru. Her body was embellished with snakes, spiders, and religious symbol tattoos.
Huaca El Brujo (Sacred place of the Witch) is where the former priestess was discovered mummified in 2005. She was buried with her prized weapons and gold articles. The ancient archaeological site allowed for people to understand the Moche society.
The Lady of Cao screenshot from The Archaeology Channel
The Lady of Cao screenshot from The Archaeology Channel
Moche society
The Moche conquered the Chicama Valley from about 100 to 700 AD. Not only that but it was patriarchal. Huaca del Sol and the Huaca de la Luna are the two pyramids that were used for social and religious activities. Of course, the bodies were also left to rest in these holy pyramids.
Huaca del Sol CC Martin St-Amant via Wikimedia Commons
It’s been said that Lady of Cao’s tattoos represented an elite like quality since the tattoos are linked to the spiritual symbolism that is found throughout the Moche society. What makes this find so unique is that, what was once considered a male ruled society, has now been debunked. They found a total of eight queens, while priest-kings were also found. It seems that the society had a stable structure when it came to sexes.
One of the most famous tombs to have ever been located on the northern coastline of Peru was El Señor de Sipán (the Lord of Sipan). The discovery in 1987 led many to believe the society was male driven. Thirsty for blood, the Moche society celebrated nature by not only drinking blood but engaging in sexual acts and embracing death. The walls in their temple reveal such beliefs.
El Señor de Sipán tomb via Wikimedia Commons
The Moche society flourished way before the Inca empire ruled the Andes. They built canals to grow crops, created intricate goldwork and ceramics.
3D Imaging
Lady of Cao’s face has recently been revealed by Peru’s culture officials and archaeologists. Thanks to 3D imaging technology and forensics archaeology, they were able to create a lifesize model in ten months. The striking replica is based on her skull structure plus ethnographic research.
Lady of Cao Screenshot via euronews
Lady of Cao will be making her debut in Peru’s Culture Ministry in Lima till July 16. She will then be displayed at the museum, El Brujo.
Lady of Cao Screenshot via euronews
Did you know?
The Lady of Cao was buried with a crown, and gold and copper items.
The grave contained two war clubs and 23 spear throwers.
An autopsy revealed she had probably died of childbirth or pregnancy complications.
Near her grave was a strangled adolescent, who’s believed to have been a sacrifice to guide Lady of Cao into the afterlife.
Ski Ballet: The Forgotten Olympic Sport We Need To Bring Back
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Rarely is a sport so completely bizarre that it shows up in the world-renowned Olympics before disappearing into the snowy powder from whence it came.
Dancing, costumes, snow, flips, and 80s music; this sport had it all. The sport was a form of freestyle skiing that looks very similar to freestyle figure skating routine. Ballet skiers had 90 seconds to perform a routine of their own creation before a panel of judges. Some played rock music of the time, giving aggressive performances, while others chose classical music for their delicate spins and footwork.
Inception
Ski ballet truly was a product of the times. Just as music and culture were becoming more rebellious, freestyle skiing was taking form in protest of rigid European ski techniques. Moguls and Aerial took form first, and are still a part of the Olympics today, but in the pro world, skiers were looking for something more.
Pioneer Bob Howard worked out techniques while other skiers came up with the idea to add music. One trick involved a performer planting their ski poles in the ground and doing a flip over them. All this buzz around the sport by pro athletes combined with a formal league set the stage for Ski Ballet to hit the Olympics.
At the Olympics
Ski Ballet premiered at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Canada. It was just an exhibition sport and, sadly, didn’t win over many Alpine or Nordic ski fans.
By its second appearance in the 1992 Winter Games, snowboarding was already the hot new thing to watch, and Ski Ballet was never renewed.
Many of the ski ballet athletes blame low membership for the sport’s demise. Whereas anybody can get inspired to hit the slopes on a snowboard, ski ballet was a much more difficult sport for regular people to break into.
By the early 2000’s the sport completely vanished.
Source: Ski Ballet: The Forgotten Olympic Sport We Need To Bring Back
July 4, 2017
July 3, 2017
4 Hot Dogs Celebrating Freedom in the Kitchen
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
The hot dog is considered a nearly omnipotent food by the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council. Over $2.5 billion in hot dogs are sold in supermarkets, but the number of dogs sold without barcodes in ballparks, street stands, and in restaurants makes hot dog consumption almost incalculable.
Hot Dogs By the Numbers
Los Angeles eats the most hot dogs of any city in the world—over 39 million!
Baseball fans scarf down over 21 million hot dogs in the course of a year!
More than 7 billion hot dogs are devoured during “hot dog season” (between Memorial and Labor days) – that’s over 800 hot dogs a second!
When a Foot-long Isn’t Enough
The “Big Hot Dog” is 16 inches long and 4” in diameter and weighs in at 17lbs! This dog is a mixture of 100% veal, beef, and pork.
But it sports a hefty price tag, this dog will set you back $170, but the makers claim it can feed 40+ people.
The Hundred-dollar Hot Dog
Americans aren’t the only country in love with the dog. The “Dragon Dog”, from Dougie Dog in Vancouver, is a $100 food truck fare made by infusing Kobe beef with 100-year-old cognac. The dog is then topped with lobster, truffle oil, and a Picante sauce.
If Dragon Dog is a little out of your price range? Try the Dave Grohl Special, a whiskey infused frank with hot peppers, for just $6.95.
Burnt or Black?
Some people like their franks blackened, but what about the completely black hot dog and bun? If you’re looking for something more exotic, try the Black Terra from Vegas Premium Hot Dogs in Tokyo. The dogs and buns are darkened with edible bamboo charcoal powder, which doesn’t alter the taste and may actually be good for your health.
A Sweet, Vegetarian Hotdog
If your diet is making you feel left out from the holiday celebrations, and you don’t want to take your chances with mystery not-meat, try the sweet banana dog! Popular recipes pair it with peanut butter and jelly, but others treat it as a more traditional dog, topping it with ketchup and mustard.
PBJ Banana Dog by Kitchen Life of a Navy Wife
But What About Burgers?
Despite the popularity of hot dogs, burgers are the dominant July 4th meal, according to Walmart sales reports. States that prefer the dog include South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Michigan, West Virginia, Maine, Vermont, North Carolina, Alabama, Alaska, and Hawaii.
The clear condiment winner is ketchup, outselling mustard in every single state. Texas buys more hamburger and hot dog buns than every other state combined. Potato salad is the best selling side, with cole slaw coming in second.
Let’s Hang out with Terrible Tommy at the Gallows
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Believe it or not, we own Terrible Tommy’s wooden gallows. Well, they’re not his exactly, but rather the method in which Tommy was going to be hanged for his horrendous crimes.
Who is Terrible Tommy?
Patrick J. O’Neill
Thomas O’Connor, better known as “Terrible Tommy,” was raised in a life of crime. Born in Ireland in 1890, Tommy and his family moved to Chicago when he was just two-years-old. He first became a recognized gangster when he murdered a retired police officer and a childhood friend. He was initially let go due to shady circumstances in court, but eventually the police thought they had enough to arrest him. The police surrounded his home, but Terrible Tommy shot his way out and went on the run, killing officer Patrick O’Neill in the process.
The grieving family of Police Detective Patrick J. O’Neil
Sentencing
Four months later, he was apprehended and sentenced to death by hanging. His sentence was scheduled for December 15, 1921. However, on December 11th, Tommy escaped prison, never to be seen again.
Terrible Tommy was the last person sentenced to hanging in the city of Chicago. The gallows should have been decommissioned, but since Tommy had been sentenced to die on it, the gallows were left up in hopes that he would be found and his sentence could be carried out.
Owning it
We bought the gallows a few years after Chicago gave up on catching Terrible Tommy. We also obtained some incredible personal artifacts, including the broken pocket watch of Patrick O’Neill, the officer Tommy murdered.
The Gallows
Mysteries at the Museum
Want to learn more Terrible Tommy? Well, make sure to tune in Thursday, July, 06 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on Travel Channel’s Mysteries at the Museum for an exclusive viewing of the gallows and interview with our Lead Researcher, Sabrina Sieck!
July 2, 2017
July 1, 2017
June 30, 2017
Can You Guess the Top 7 Intergalactic Toys Ripley’s Just Bought?!
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
From a galaxy far, far away to planet Krypton, believe it or not, we’ve obtained one heck of an intergalactic collection from the Profiles in History Hollywood Auction!
Star Wars
We are now proud owners of the original Star Wars lightsaber that was used by, yes, Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, in Star Wars: A New Hope and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Might we add, this lightsaber is going to go quite well with our incredible Star Wars collection. It includes hair from Chewbacca’s suit, Michelangelo’s “Pieta” reinterpreted with Chewbacca cradling Han Solo made from duct tape, and the Millennium Falcon made with nearly one million matchsticks!
The original Star Wars lightsaber
Star Trek
The bridge engineering console that was typically manned by “Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge” (LeVar Burton) and “Lt. Cmdr. Worf” (Michael Dorn) has now found a new home here at Ripley’s! The console was used in Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek IX: Insurrection, and Star Trek X: Nemesis. Very few consoles from the U.S.S. Enterprise Bridge come to auction, and we are overjoyed to own it.
Star Trek Bridge Engineering Console
Have you seen our Star Trek Keyboard Art of Spock? It was made with 3,830 computer keys. It also comes with hidden word search which includes:
LIVE LONG AND PROSPER
I HAVE BEEN AND ALWAYS SHALL BE YOUR FRIEND
SPOCK
STAR TREK
Superman
Before Henry Cavil, Dean Cain, and even Christopher Reeve there was George Reeves. Reeves played Clark Kent in the 1950s television series titled Adventures of Superman. The original Superman costume includes a red fabric cape, belt buckle, and muscled undersuit. The items will hang high with our Superman cape worn by Christopher Reeve during the filming of Superman: The Movie and Superman II and a costume Dean Cain wore on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.
Original Superman Costume worn by actor George Reeves
Dean Cain Superman Costume
Christopher Reeves Superman Cape
Other Items Purchased at the Auction:
Donald Trump’s 50th birthday invitation sent to Loni Anderson
The Walking Dead jacket and “zombie” facial appliance
Set of Bob Hope novelty golf clubs
All My Children Daytime Emmy Award (1978-88) for Best Writing to Mary K. Wells
Let us know in the comments below which is your favorite item from the intergalactic collection at Ripley’s!
Source: Can You Guess the Top 7 Intergalactic Toys Ripley’s Just Bought?!
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