Ripley Entertainment Inc.'s Blog, page 467
July 29, 2016
July 28, 2016
City Makes it Illegal to be Stinky
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
In 2014, Burien, Washington made it illegal for someone with “offensive body odor” to be in a park, library, or City Hall.
City officials said it can sometimes be hard to enjoy these spaces if someone has too much body odor
Opponents of the law said it was made to unfairly target the homeless population
In Burien, it’s also illegal to use obscene language, not wear enough clothing, or display poor personal hygiene
People who break this law could be banned from the public area in question for up to a year
Civil Rights groups have been protesting the law since it was enacted
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.
The Ayam Cemani Chicken of Indonesia
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
The Ayam Cemani chicken of Indonesia has all black feathers, black skin, a black beak, and even black internal organs.
The Ayam Cemani is a modern breed of chicken from Indonesia
Ayam means chicken in Bahasa Indonesia and Cemani is the village where the breed originated
The breed has a dominate gene that causes hyperpigmentation
The breed was first described by Dutch colonial settlers and imported to Europe in 1998
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.
Last Known VCR Maker Stops Production
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
The last known VCR maker is finally stopping production.
The VHS format launched 40 years ago
The last known company making VCRs is stationed in Japan
They’re citing declining sales and a difficulty in obtaining parts as the reason for shutting down
At its peak, the company sold as many as 15 million VCRs per year
Even last year they sold 750,000 units
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.
Woman has Three Sets of Fraternal Twins in 26 Months
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
A Kansas City mother had three sets of twins over a 26 month period.
20-year-old Danesha Couch and her fiancé Jeffery Pressler had their first set of fraternal twins two years ago
Their second set was born a year ago
Their most recent set of twins was born last month
She didn’t use any fertility treatments
Multiple births of fraternal twins is more common than identical twins
Even with this being more common, the chances of having three sets of fraternal twins is one in 88,000
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 has Three Sets of Fraternal Twins in 26 Months
July 27, 2016
Underwater Art Galleries
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
If there’s one thing I’ve learned working at Ripley’s, it’s that there are always new art styles to find. Whether its sculptures made of strange materials or monkey-designed tattoos, there’s no limit to the wonder of art. Andreas Franke is a photographer who has been adding his unique perspective to the art world for years. He takes his photographs and displays them on underwater shipwrecks, but the experience doesn’t stop there.
Andreas Franke and the Process
Franke is a photographer, but his true passion is diving. At first sight, it would seem easy to combine those two interests. The invention of waterproof cameras means anyone can go diving and take pictures. But Franke wasn’t happy with just taking pictures of his underwater adventures. Instead, he wanted to transport people to unbelievable lands.
With my photographs of The Sinking World, I want to pull the spectators into unreal and strange worlds. Ordinary scenes of the past play within a fictional space and become dreamworlds you can get lost in or you can identify with.
He achieves this by diving to shipwrecks and artificial reefs and photographing them. Then, he takes those photographs and combines them with studio images representing scenes of everyday life. The images are almost all vintage in their styling and composition. Some of the scenes he creates are Victorian while others appear to be set in the 50s.
The combination of vintage dress and the shots of the sea life around the shipwreck is mesmerizing. Franke creates the illusion of a new world where life looks like something we’d recognize, but it all takes place underwater.
Mrs. Smith
The Exhibition
If you thought the process would stop at the creation of the images, you were wrong. After getting the pictures just right, Franke prints them out, encloses them in plexiglass, and then displays them on the shipwreck where they were initially taken. Scuba divers from around the world are allowed to dive down and witness the unique exhibitions.
Divers explore the exhibition on Vandenberg
If you aren’t scuba certified, don’t worry about it; you can still experience Franke’s photography up close and personal. After the pictures have been submerged for a few months, they are removed from the ocean and displayed in art galleries. The finished product is a bit different from the original, however.
The photos are sealed in plexiglass, but not even that is perfect. The cracks around the edges of the seals allow saltwater to creep into the cases. The water and the microorganisms that come along with it change the images in unique ways. The finished products are discolored with evidence of sea life growing on them.
Before:
Sarah
After:
Patina covered Sarah
No two pictures are ever the same. Whether you see the images in their natural habitat on the ships or in a gallery, Andreas Franke offers a one-of-a-kind viewing experience. You can see more of his work on his website.
Rolling in the Deep
Balancing Bob
The Svenson Brothers
Rendevouz with Esther
Sweet Babette
Mathis and Gerard
All Together
Source: Underwater Art Galleries
July 26, 2016
Charlie, the CIA Catfish
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
In the 1990s, the CIA developed “Charlie,” a robotic catfish that swims just like a real fish.
Charlie was created to study the feasibility of unmanned underwater vehicles
Charlie had design capabilities that included speed, endurance, maneuverability, depth control, and radio communications
The CIA catfish contains a pressure hull, ballast, and communication systems in the body, and a propulsion system in the tail
Charlie’s mission was to collect water samples while undetected
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: Charlie, the CIA Catfish
Day 73, Tuesday 26th July
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
I saw the horizon briefly 2 hours ago; now it’s all shades of gray and clammy fog yet again! Right now I can see no further than across an average school square, so especially my young readers – hope you are still there – must forgive me for boring reports. No fog means I see much more and that makes it much more entertaining for me too. But I see dolphins daily as they come past in small groups of 2-6 animals. No big whales within my small circle, but I will see some for sure when I get closer to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge about 150 nm (3 days?) ahead. That’s where the sea floor rises from about 4000 to 2000 m, and where Earth’s hot and liquid inside gets squeezed up and gradually widens the gap between Europe and America. In some places, volcanoes form and produce islands, like Iceland and the Azores, just S of me soon. These islands are Portuguese, have high tops with craters, black, sandy beaches, lots of Hydrangea bushes with either blue or red flowers depending on the acidity of the earth they grow in, friendly people, mosaic patterns in the pavements, and great sea-food. And they make excellent wine. When we first sailed to Horta, Faial in 1982 in Red Admiral, hunting sperm whales was still important industry. We took the ferry across to Pico with crew from “Scally” and saw one huge specimen. It was a pretty gruesome sight as it was being parted. In fact World opinion made them stop a couple of years later. Now the old yards on Pico and Faial are museums. We were back with Red Admiral in 1991 and White Admiral in 2014 and saw whales at sea each time.
My most faithful company are the birds, especially the fulmar gulls. They are curious and especially if I row slowly, like most of yesterday, some will land close to the bow, paddle as fast as they can to keep up, fly off, do a big circle and land just outside the range of the oars once more. And so on. They probably hope for food. Sorry!
Strong winds forecast for later.
Source: Day 73, Tuesday 26th July
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