Ripley Entertainment Inc.'s Blog, page 448
October 16, 2016
October 15, 2016
October 14, 2016
Tsunami Stones: Warnings from Antiquity Can Still Save Lives
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Every place has something about it that makes living there unique, or downright horrifying. In ocean-side, tropical climates, you have the occasional hurricane. In flatland, there are regular tornados. In California, earthquakes are the norm. They’re all natural disasters, but the people in these parts of the world learn to live with them as best they can. You prepare when you know one is coming, and you hope this instance won’t be the worst one yet.
In Japan, residents contend with earthquakes, but those quakes often lead to something just as worrisome: tsunamis. While technology is still being worked out to help protect Japanese villages from these disasters, some of the most effective protections seem to be some of the oldest.
Tsunami Stones
Embed from Getty Images
Dotted around the island are these ancient stones. Carved into the stones are warnings and information pertaining to tsunamis. Warnings such as:
“High dwellings are the peace and harmony of our descendants. Remember the calamity of the great tsunamis. Do not build any homes below this point.”
Ancient cultures knew that higher ground was safer when it came to dealing with tsunamis. They knew this because they had experienced the devastation of this phenomenon first hand. In an attempt to stop future generations from also having to experience it, they set up warnings.
Not all of the warnings are about where to or where not to build homes. Some of the tsunami stones serve simply as reminders of past disasters. Some of them are so old that the writing etched into the surface has faded away.
Faded Warnings
Small older villages like Aneyoshi on the northeastern coast continue to heed the warnings of the tsunami stones. But as populations rise and the economy booms, more residential space is needed.
In March of 2011, Japan saw one of the worst tsunamis in its history. The people of Aneyoshi village were safe. The waves stopped just 300 feet below the warning stone. But a lot of people in the villages closer to shore who were relying on sea walls to protect them weren’t so lucky.
“It takes about three generations for people to forget. Those that experience the disaster themselves pass it to their children and their grandchildren, but then the memory fades.” -Fumihiko Imamura, professor in disaster planning at Tohoku University
Source: Tsunami Stones: Warnings from Antiquity Can Still Save Lives
In Stockholm, You Can Hire a Bread Babysitter
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Bakers going on vacation in Stockholm, Sweden sometimes leave the starter for their sourdough with a bread babysitter.
A Sourdough starter is a fermented mix of flour, water, and procreating microorganisms
Its crucial for making bread without the use of commercial yeast
Sourdough starters, unlike commercial yeast, need care and attention
The starter has to be “fed” at least once a week with flour and water
Someone going on vacation may not have time to “feed” their starter
Instead of dumping it, a baker can leave their starter at RC Chocolat in the Stockholm Arlanda Airport
When they come back, their starter is waiting for them and has been well cared for during their journey
MINI BION
“BIONs” – short for Believe It or Not – is the word we use at Ripley’s to refer to anything that is unbelievable and worthy to become part of Ripley’s lore and collection.
October 13, 2016
Woman pays $500 for Goldfish Surgery After It Swallows a Rock
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
The Goldfish’s name is Conquer
When his owner noticed him acting strange, she took him to the Brisbane Bird and Exotics Veterinary Services Center
After an examination, the vets noticed he’d swallowed a pebble from his tank
Conquer was anesthetized, and the pebble was removed
Goldfish surgery is uncommon, but not unheard of
Conquer was returned to his owner and is back in his tank, happy and healthy
MINI BION
“BIONs” – short for Believe It or Not – is the word we use at Ripley’s to refer to anything that is unbelievable and worthy to become part of Ripley’s lore and collection.
Source: Woman pays $500 for Goldfish Surgery After It Swallows a Rock
Man Hates His Commute So Much He Built His Own Plane
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Commuting is the worst. All those people and cars on the road. In fact, rush hour is one of the biggest misnomers since it hardly ever lasts for only an hour. Anyone with one of these kinds of trips to work would be well within their rights to seek a different, more feasible option. Which is exactly why Frantisek Hadrava built a commuter plane to replace his drive to work.
How long was Hadrava’s horrible drive to the office? I knew someone once who drove clear across city lines in a trip that lasted over an hour both ways to get to and from work. Surely Hadrava’s trek was at least as bad as that. Alas, no, the 45-year-old locksmith was upset over his 14-minute drive to and from work.
Let’s Fly
Instead of slogging his way through a trip that lasted less than a quarter of an hour, Hadrava took all of his spare time and built himself a plane.
Embed from Getty Images
The flyer in question is a Vampira, which sounds somewhat ominous. It’s a light-weight model built almost entirely out of wood. It’s modeled after the U.S.-Designed Mini-MAX light planes. These are available in kit form so they can be built by amateurs, but Hadrava built his from scratch.
Embed from Getty Images
How’s That Workin’ Out?
As a result of flying to work instead of driving, Hadrava has shaved his commute from 14 minutes to seven, and even then, it’s only seven minutes because he takes a more scenic route to work.
The entire plane took 3,700 euros ($4,200) to build, and the small three-cylinder engine uses six liters of gas per hour. So in a lot of ways, it’s cheaper than driving a car back and forth each day.
He lands in a field close to his office and then parks in the employee parking. Seven minutes, and four parking spaces later, Frantisek Hadrava has a novel solution for how to get to and from work.
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Source: Man Hates His Commute So Much He Built His Own Plane
October 12, 2016
Meet Greg: Mr. T Doll Collector
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
New Yorker Greg Rivera has a collection of over 250 handmade dolls of Lawrence Tureaud—otherwise known as Mr. T.
The dolls look similar to the Cabbage Patch Kid dolls popular during the 1980s, but Rivera’s Mr. T dolls have Mohawks, wear Mr. T’s signature gold jewelry, and some even have tattoos.
Rivera considers Mr. T his childhood hero and used to watch The A Team TV show with his dad when he was a child.
Rivera’s now massive collection has even been featured at art galleries—called “I Pity the Dolls! A Collection of Contemporary and Vintage Mr. T Dolls.” Rivera is currently working on a book featuring photos of the dolls and the story behind them.
In 1998, Rivera started seriously collecting when his friend decided to sell his Mr. T collection—Rivera bought all 50 items.
Hello, Dolly: A Pure Gold Interview
Q: Do you have a favorite doll? If so, what makes it so special?
A: The thing I love about them is they are all 100 percent unique. Even though they were based on a pattern book, they each reflect the different artisan’s skill level. There are few that are “anatomically correct.” I like those just because I have to think, “What was the maker of the doll thinking?”
“I believe in the Golden Rule—the man with the gold…rules.” – Mr. T
Q: Have you met Mr. T?
A: I never have! I know that he knows I exist, though. The first time I exhibited the dolls I was interviewed by the Washington Post. They interviewed Mr. T as well as told him about my collection. He said it touched his heart and he wanted to tell his momma about it. He also signed a bobble head doll for me that the reporter gave me!
Another year, another all-new annual!
We here at Ripley’s had a blast making this new annual, and we guarantee your family and friends will find all-new favorites on every page. Join us back here every week for an exclusive inside look at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Unlock the Weird!
Source: Meet Greg: Mr. T Doll Collector
Walking in a Walken Wonderland
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
For this year’s Socrates Sculpture Park’s Emerging Artist Fellowship Exhibition, artist Bryan Zanisnik created a bunch of concrete Christopher Walken heads, and placed them throughout the park.
The installation is entitled Monument to Walken
It’s set to run through March 13, 2017
Christopher Walken was born in Astoria, New York, so it’s like a homecoming
Bryan Zanisnik was born in Union, New Jersey and currently lives and works in Queens, NY
Socrates Sculpture Park was founded by artists in 1986
The area was an abandoned riverside landfill
Now, it’s a space for artists to create and exhibit large-scale sculpture installations
A photo posted by Jeremy Phillips (@kidradio) on Oct 2, 2016 at 4:47pm PDT
#christopherwalken heads #morecowbell
A photo posted by Jen Walter (@jenwalternyc) on Oct 3, 2016 at 10:44am PDT
Walkens in the park. #sculpturepark #astoria #funny #creepy #art #christopherwalken
A photo posted by Glen Scott (@hewhoisglen) on Oct 2, 2016 at 12:16pm PDT
MINI BION
“BIONs” – short for Believe It or Not – is the word we use at Ripley’s to refer to anything that is unbelievable and worthy to become part of Ripley’s lore and collection.
Source: Walking in a Walken Wonderland
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