Ripley Entertainment Inc.'s Blog, page 408
June 4, 2017
June 3, 2017
June 2, 2017
Baby Hippo Fiona Is about to Make Her Starring Debut
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
It’s hard to believe that Fiona, this adorably cute premature hippo, has made a speedy recovery during her time at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. In these past several months, Fiona has been taught to walk, swim and even nurse on her own.
The four-month-old is now being introduced to an outdoor habitat, where she has been swimming with excitement in a 9-foot-deep pool. Zoo caretakers stand around the pool, encouraging little Fiona to swim onward. While this might sound like a job for her hippo parents, Fiona just couldn’t stand on her own to be nursed. Her parents weigh more than 3,000 pounds, and Fiona is only 275. The zoo caretakers are slowly introducing Fiona to her parents and say things are going very well.
Fiona has come a long way. Her care team have monitored her diet carefully for the past 4 months & she is now up to a healthy 265lbs. pic.twitter.com/h2C5drARUp
— Cincinnati Zoo (@CincinnatiZoo) May 28, 2017
Fiona can only spend short periods of time outside. Her pool session last about an hour. It takes a ton of energy for Fiona to propel her little self to the bottom of the pool and then pull herself up for air. Imagine doing that over and over again. Unfortunately, she is not ready for her public debut, since there’s so much more this courageous hippo has yet to explore.
You go, girl! #TeamFiona!
Facts
Believe it or not, newborn hippos weight anywhere from 55 to 120 pounds! Hippo Fiona weighed only 29.
A hippo can live for up to 40 years.
The hippo’s closest living relatives are whales and porpoises.
Their Scientific Name is Hippopotamus Amphibius-meaning River Horse.
The hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal after the elephant and white rhino.
They can hold their breath for 5-6 minutes.
A mother gives birth to her baby underwater.
A male hippo is called a Bull.
A female hippo is called a Cow.
A baby hippo is called a Calf.
Hippo’s live in East Africa South of the Sahara.
This hippo is made of scrap metal from oil drums, construction materials and crashed cars!
Source: Baby Hippo Fiona Is about to Make Her Starring Debut
Reg Spiers: The Man Who Shipped Himself Home in a Box
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Cool Stuff, Strange Things
Hosted by Ripley’s lead researcher, Sabrina Sieck, let Ripley’s Believe It or Not! introduce YOU to the coolest stuff and strangest things.
Today: Reg Spiers
The Journey of Reg Spiers
In the summer of 1964, Australian javelin thrower Reg Spiers was traveling around Britain’s athletic circuit in an attempt to qualify for Australia’s Olympic team. He didn’t make the cut and was left without a dime, stranded in a foreign land. With his baby daughter’s birthday coming up, Reg was determined to get home.
Unable to afford a plane ticket, he concocted an absurd plan. Reg was going to pack himself into a crate and air-freight himself back to Australia. Talk about precious cargo!
The Plan
With the help of his buddy, McSorley, Reg constructed a 5-foot by 3-foot by 2-foot-6-inche wooden box. Standing over six and a half feet tall, it was big enough to stretch his legs, but by no means comfortable. The box had latches at both ends so he could get out regardless of how baggage handlers haphazardly stacked him and pennies were wedged between the box’s wooden so he could breathe. To prepare, he fasted for a week prior in order to slow down his bodily functions.
With home on his mind, Reg climbed inside with some rations, a copy of Esquire magazine, a flashlight and a suit to ensure he looked dapper when he arrived Down Under. Nailed in and labeled Cash on Delivery, Reg was dropped off at Heathrow Airport and was ready for the journey of a lifetime.
Delays
Kicking off the trip, Reg was delayed 28 hours in London due to fog and had to stay in his box the entire time, waiting for the plane to finally take off to climb out and relieve himself. This was the ONLY time Reg got out of the box during the entire 63-hour trip, and it almost got him caught! Somewhere between London and Paris, he got out of the box and peed into an empty spaghetti can. The plane began its descent and, in his rush to hide, he left the can sitting on top of the box. Lucky for Reg, baggage handlers simply thought their coworkers were playing a prank.
Next stop, India, where Bombay airport workers left the box on the tarmac for hours in the sweltering heat. To keep cool, he stripped down to his birthday suit and went full nude inside the box.
Finally, Reg touched down in Perth and was taken to a shed with the rest of the freight. He made his way out of the box (which was conveniently located next to a crate of beer, so naturally, he popped one open—Cheers, Reg), put on his suit and began hitchhiking the 2,000-ish miles to his family in Adelaide.
The Search for Reg Spiers
He made it—and in time for his daughter’s birthday—but forgot one tiny detail. He forgot to tell McSorley that he arrived safely. Obviously, McSorley assumed the worst and panicked, calling a journalist to help track Reg down. This spurred a media circus—so much so that the airline Reg had snuck onto was pressured into allowing him to fly for free, which was lucky as the cost of shipping the box would have actually been much more expensive than a plane ticket.
Over those thirteen thousand miles and three continents, Reg was upside down, right side up, on the brink of dehydration and even dropped by a forklift, but he managed to travel halfway around the world for FREE!
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Source: Reg Spiers: The Man Who Shipped Himself Home in a Box
June 1, 2017
Can You Hear Her? La Llorona Is Calling Your Name!
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
You can hear a woman’s wails echoing as you pace your way through the forest. Unsure of how to escape the piercing shrieks, you find yourself glaring at an enchanting manifestation. There she stands, with perfectly smooth black hair, in a white mesh dress and a tattered lace veil, hauntingly luring you in with her gaze. Suddenly, without hesitation, you’re running for your life as she floats in your direction because she wants to drag you to hell with her.
You should have listened to your mother when she said staying out past your bedtime would lend you some heavy trouble. You never want to be confronted by La Llorona (The Weeping Woman).
Yes, we’ve all been plagued by the familiar stories of the boogie man finding its way to get you because you’re out past your curfew. These stories have paved the way for discipline and some scary movies. However, there’s nothing more frightening than knowing the one thing you shouldn’t fear, you do: your mother.
“Mommy Dearest” anyone? We think La Llorona might be scarier…
La Llorona via Wikimedia Commons
The Story
Believe it or not, there are many variations of La Llorona. The 500-year-old ghost story typically starts with the most beautiful women in the world or Mexico—where the story originates. Otherwise known as Maria, this enchantress loves to flaunt her assets and use her charm to obtain what she wants. It’s no wonder she landed herself the most eligible and wealthiest bachelor in town.
After birthing two boys, Maria’s husband grew bored of her. He would leave her months at a time, and never hid the fact that he was ultimately choosing to live his life as a womanizer. With time, Maria grew tired of his games and blamed her two boys for the end of her marriage.
One night, Maria took a stroll down the river with her children. Suddenly, her husband appeared with a younger woman in his carriage. He was upset to find that Maria had taken the boys to such an unsafe place. With conviction, Maria’s husband demanded that the boys get on the carriage and leave this place at once. It was then Maria noticed her husband was officially leaving her and taking the kids too. She became enraged as she realized her two boys had the love she yearned for.
Anger took over, and she seized the boys and threw them into the river. Realizing what she had done, Maria went running along the stream in hopes that she could rescue her boys. It was too late.
According to legend, Maria roamed the river banks for months. With time, her white gown began to soil and deteriorate, gaining her the horrifying signature look. Maria also refused to eat and spent the rest of her days weeping. Hence her name, La Llorona, “The Weeping Woman”.
Stone statue depicting La Llorona in Xochimilco, Mexico City. Via Wikimedia Commons
Pop Culture Phenomena
Rumor has it that you can sill hear her restless spirit weeping and still mourning the loss of her children around the banks of the Santa Fe River.
Other’s claim to see her spirit in a creek between Mora and Guadalupita, New Mexico.
Without a doubt, this story has become a legend throughout the Hispanic culture. It’s mostly been used to warn children not to stay out late or wander off.
La Llorona has been interpreted in some movies and even haunted houses during Halloween Horror Nights.
It’s been said that you can hear La Llorona screaming for her children near the famous island “La Isla de Las Muñecas“. Locals insist Maria killed the young girl that was found floating along the river by Don Julian Santana who created the doll shrine for the child.
Greek Mythology
It looks like La Llorona folklore might be inspired by ancient Greek mythology. Remember Zeus’ affair with Lamia? It was said that when Hera discovered them, she forced Lamia to eat her children, condemning the demigoddess to devour any child she could find.
Testimonials
“At the age of seven, I was attending the new Pajarito School in the South Valley of Albuquerque, New Mexico. I loved attending the Pajarito School, especially when it was time to play outside in the schoolyard. Surrounding the playground was a high fence to keep the children from wandering off. Behind the fence was an irrigation ditch that fed an alfalfa field on the other side of the trench. In the high, arid lands surrounding Albuquerque, it seemed as if there were ditches everywhere, watering the fields beyond the city.
Soon, we met a little boy who was not yet old enough to attend school. He would often come and play by the fence and watch as the older children frolicked in the schoolyard. But, one day our play was interrupted by a big commotion near the schoolyard fence. As we ran towards the fence, we soon discovered that the little boy had fallen into the irrigation ditch. Though one of our teachers pulled the boy from the muddy water and began resuscitation efforts, it was too late. That was the first time I had ever experienced the loss of a friend.
The next day at school, one of the children told me that La Llorona had gotten the boy. I could only stand there speechless, having never heard of La Llorona. They explained that she was the “ditch lady” that wandered up and down the ditches looking for little kids to “steal” because her children had drowned in a terrible accident. That frightened me because right outside my back door were two of these muddy trenches. On cloudy days we could imagine her ascending from the heavens to take her place along the irrigation ditches.”
Submitted By: By Reverend Elizabeth Kirkwood via Legends of America.
“When I was in the seventh grade, I had a frightening dream. I saw myself standing on a dark road with the only illumination coming from a dim streetlight. The ground was wet, and in the distance, I could hear the sound of rain falling and the tap, tap, tapping of footsteps coming toward me. Peering into the darkness, I could make out a woman, dressed all in black with a dark lacy veil covering her face, moving toward me. Strangely, as the mysterious woman grew closer, so did the rain.
When the woman was about 15 feet in front of me, she looked over my shoulder. When I turned around to see what she was looking at, I saw a young child dressed in a white nightgown playing with a doll in the middle of a puddle of water. When I turned back to her, she was right in front of me. The veil was lifted, her eyes were abnormally wide, and her face was no more than three inches away from mine. Her terrifying eyes stared into mine dead on until I awoke in a panic. I looked toward the window – it was raining. As you can imagine, I didn’t sleep for the rest of the night.
The next day, I shook off the dream and thought nothing more about it, until a year later. On that night, I was spending the night with my friend Veronica, who had also invited another friend named Sarah. In the course of the evening, Sarah, who is Hispanic, began to tell us some of the legends and ghost stories of the Mexican culture. When she began to tell the tale of La Llorona, I didn’t think anything of it at first. Then she began to tell of how the legendary spirit travels by water, dressed all in black or white and is almost always seen wearing a veil. Sarah continued by telling us that La Llorona lifts her veil only to her “victims,” that in their afterlife, she has chosen to help her find the bones of her lost children.
Now, I constantly wonder if, in my afterlife, I will be forced to help her find the bones of her lost children.”
Submitted By: Tonia Apelar of Eureka, California via Legends of America.
Have you seen La Llorona? Let us know in the comments below. We are dying to know!
May 31, 2017
The Man Who Bought Stonehenge at Auction
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Stonehenge has passed through many hands in its 5,000-year history, but in 1915, it became the property of Cecil Chubb.
After being seized from an Abby during the reign of Henry VIII, Stonehenge had passed from private owner to private owner. In 1914, the owner was killed in the early days of World War I. As his property went to auction, rumors abounded as to who would buy Stonehenge.
Many thought an American millionaire would buy the stones and have them shipped to America, but Cecil Chubb emerged the victor, paying £6,600.
In today’s dollars, the purchase was worth $875,000!
Mysteries of Stonehenge
Believe it or not, the 40-ton stones used to make Stonehenge were quarried 20 miles away and were moved there without the benefit of wheeled equipment.
Some of the stones are 13-feet high, and weigh over 25 tons! People often take the “impossible” size to mean some supernatural source must have helped assemble them, but researchers have proven the stones could have been moved with simple pulleys and logs.
Believed to be around 5,000 years old, there are many theories as to Stonehenge’s purpose. Truthfully it’s been used for many different things in its long history. Archaeologists know that the site was a place of burial and healing even before the stones were erected. Since then, numerous groups have worshiped and practiced rituals at the site.
An interesting feature of the stones is that they arranged so that light shines through them during the summer and winter solstices.
Cecil Chubb
No one is quite sure why Chubb decided to buy the land. He claims to have bought it on a whim, and as a gift for his wife. (A gift she is rumored to have not appreciated.)
Many people think, however, that he wanted to secure it against American interests. After holding it just two years, he donated the land to the public, with the stipulation people be able to easily visit the monolith.
To honor his donation, Chubb was made a baronet by the British crown. His residence was visited frequently by King George VI, who liked the seclusion of the Chubb’s estate.
May 30, 2017
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