Ripley Entertainment Inc.'s Blog, page 70
August 25, 2022
Escape the Ordinary with Ripley’s Brand-New Book!
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Feeling bored? Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Escape the Ordinary is here to transport you to a world beyond imagination — where truth is always stranger than fiction! Fall in love with Ninja the parkour pooch, discover a disappearing waterfall, learn how whales hunt with bubbles, and meet some truly extraordinary people that are sure to blow your mind!
Marvel at the Miraculous
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Escape the Ordinary transports readers of all ages to a world beyond imagination. Every turn of the page reveals all-new and all-true stories from around the globe! Filled with stunning photography and engaging content, including interviews and reader submissions, this book is every curious reader’s ticket to Escape the Ordinary.
Say “no” to normal as Escape the Ordinary’s 256 pages spark curiosity, challenge perception, celebrate differences, and curate a sense of wonder for the weird world around us!
Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Escape the Ordinary will be released September 20, 2022, and available at major retailers and on Amazon. For inside peek, check out Ripleys.com/Escape.
EXPLORE THE ODD IN PERSON! Discover hundreds of strange and unusual artifacts and get hands-on with unbelievable interactives when you visit a Ripley’s Odditorium!
August 24, 2022
The Cursed Rocks And Guilty Tourists Of Uluru
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
In the heart of Australia lies one of the continent’s greatest tourist attractions and indigenous sites: the monolith Uluru. Formerly known as Ayers Rock, the site opened for tourism in the 1930s. Visitors would climb the breathtaking sandstone formation and interact with the Aboriginal people known as the Anangu.
Just don’t be looking to take home a souvenir, as climbers who stole stones from the mountain are said to have been cursed with misfortune, putting their lives on the rocks.
The Center of CreationUluru is sacred to the Anangu’s myths and traditions. During the Dreamtime, the inception of creation for the Anangu, ancient beings swept over the land and produced all facets of life. When they finished, the ancient beings became one with nature, residing in Uluru and other hills and waterways as their final resting spots. As a record of this time period, several petroglyphs and other rock carvings appear across Uluru and the surrounding areas.
Another Anangu legend supports Uluru as a resting place. After competing tribes fought to the death over a lizard woman, Uluru rose as a grave for the fallen warriors.
Rocky ReceptionWhile the Anangu were willing to educate tourists about their culture, they were unhappy about people climbing their sacred sight. In 1964, chains were implemented in Uluru to assist climbers, and from there, climbers continued to get bolder and bolder.
Any sense of decency flew right over the tourists, some of whom played golf and stripped clothing on Uluru. The worst offenders stole rocks as souvenirs. Sooner or later, they realized their lives would hit rock bottom.
Chains to help climbers. Credit: Summerdrought Via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Climber’s GuiltStealing a stone from a nature reserve may seem harmless, but these thieves found themselves between a rock and a hard place upon returning home. From car accidents to declining health, those with the missing minerals have reported many cases of bad luck. To free themselves of the curse of the stolen stones, the rock robbers mail their mementos back to Parks Australia rangers.
Besides curses, tourists also end up returning the rocks out of guilt. Dubbed “sorry rocks” by park rangers, they receive an estimated 365 packages of rocks per year — about one package per day! The most enormous “sorry rock” to ever be returned weighed 70 pounds! In these packages, the tourists often include letters expressing their regret for stealing the sacred rocks and asking for forgiveness.
Once park rangers have the repaid rocks, returning them to the land is no easy process. It is impossible to restore the stones to their exact original locations, so the Anangu are hesitant to reinstate rocks into the sacred grounds of Uluru. The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service also has to quarantine mailed rocks before sending them to Uluru to avoid introducing micro-pathogens to the ecosystem. Sometimes, the rocks park rangers receive aren’t even from Uluru, so they keep a close geological eye on what comes in the mail.
While the Anangu don’t associate bad luck with their rocks, they would prefer if tourists didn’t tamper with their property and treated the landscape with more respect.
A Clean SlateIn 1985, the rights to the land of Uluru were returned to the Anangu by the Australian Government. Since then, the Anangu originally put up signs asking tourists not to climb the mountain until climbing was eventually banned in 2019. To encourage this new normal, the Anangu invites tourists to accomplish a different type of feat: signing a book saying that they did not climb the mountain.
With no more climbing, there are fewer opportunities to steal these “cursed” rocks, so tourists no longer have to gravel in their grief.
By James Whelan, contributor for Ripleys.com
EXPLORE THE ODD IN PERSON! Discover hundreds of strange and unusual artifacts and get hands-on with unbelievable interactives when you visit a Ripley’s Odditorium!
August 23, 2022
Survivor Dog Lost For Two Months Rescued By Cave Explorers
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Gerry Keene and Rick Haley are regular visitors to the Berome Moore Cave north of Perryville, Missouri, according to ABC 7. The spelunkers have been involved in an intensive mapping effort of its maze-like network of underground tunnels and chambers for the Cave Research Foundation. It represents the second largest cave in the “Show Me” state and one declared by the Karst Conservancy to stretch for roughly 21 miles. But little did they know they’d soon add “canine rescuers” to their resumes.
Here’s the incredible story of a pooch named Abby who, despite all odds, survived for up to two months in Berome Moore with scant water, only the food she could scavenge, and little to no sunlight.
The Right Gear and a Little Hope
Jeff Bohnert had all but given up on seeing his poodle-hound mix again after she went missing in early June.
Two months later, he got a text from a neighbor: People exploring a nearby cave had found a dog. https://t.co/yHfmFeqOjH
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 21, 2022
After receiving a call from local firefighters, Keene and Haley opted to pack some extra gear as they prepared for another sojourn into the Berome Moore Cave system. The firefighters said they’d learned of a dog in the cave from a group of spelunkers, and it needed rescuing. Keene and Haley must’ve had their doubts about just how long a domesticated dog could survive in the inky blackness of the Missouri maw. And the reports of the previous spelunkers didn’t give her much additional time, so they needed to act quickly.
But once they descended into the familiar underground surroundings, Haley and Keene found paw prints near the cave’s entrance, a 12-foot-deep pit. The impressions provided hopeful signs of life and also told the tale of how a happy-go-lucky family pet could end up in such inhospitable accommodations. But would the two cavers discover the pup still alive and licking? That was the question.
An Incredible DiscoveryThe men continued their descent, hitting 500 feet before making an incredible discovery, as reported by The Washington Post. To their surprise, they found the furry, gray pooch reported by previous explorers inside the cave’s central passage, curled up in a ball and very weak. She wasn’t in the best shape and suffered from malnourishment. But despite general weakness, she responded to Keene and Haley’s overtures, happily acknowledging rescue had arrived.
This is where the extra gear the men packed came in handy. They zipped the weak pup into a duffle bag, wrapping her with blankets for added protection and to keep her from struggling during their climb to freedom and light. In a Facebook post, Haley described the rescue, explaining, “We moved her 500 feet to a very tight, awkward, vertical climb, handing her hand to hand upward to the surface. She was totally cooperative.”
Returning to a Dog’s LifeAfter exiting the cave, Keene and Haley noted that their charge looked skinny but otherwise uninjured. And this despite a 12-foot fall and at least a few days spent underground. Keene and Haley couldn’t help but wonder how long the canine actually lived in the cave. But they would soon receive an impressive ballpark estimate.
Missing dog found after spending two months lost in cave https://t.co/RzcWFnDB0Z
— ABC News (@abcnews) August 16, 2022
A missing dog report identified the poodle-hound mix as Abby, who went missing on June 9! Do the math, and she survived 60 days in total darkness at 58 degrees Fahrenheit. Her owner, Jeff Bohnert had all but given up on ever seeing her again. Nevertheless, as Haley attested via social media, Abby was over the moon after her rescue, and she reunited with Bohnert and her playmate and fellow canine, Summer, returning to a dog’s life above ground. We think extra dog treats and a cozy pet bed should be in order for this survivor canine!
By Engrid Barnett, contributor for Ripleys.com
EXPLORE THE ODD IN PERSON! Discover hundreds of strange and unusual artifacts and get hands-on with unbelievable interactives when you visit a Ripley’s Odditorium!Source: Survivor Dog Lost For Two Months Rescued By Cave Explorers
August 22, 2022
August 21, 2022
August 20, 2022
August 19, 2022
Scientists Find Glowing Arctic Fish With Antifreeze In Its Veins
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
In 2019, the American Museum of Natural History sent a team of scientists to Greenland to explore what lies beneath iceberg habitats as part of the Constantine S. Niarchos Expedition. Their findings were illuminating.
During their mission, they discovered the first biofluorescent Arctic fish, a snailfish that glows green and red under UV light. While attempting to learn more about this characteristic, the researchers uncovered another interesting feature: the fish was chock-full of antifreeze proteins.
The Arctic Gets a Glow UpWhile they found a few species of fish swimming in the icy waters, one was not like the other — the juvenile variegated snailfish (Liparis gibbus), a tadpole-like fish that glows bright green and red in the midst of the deep blue sea.
New research on a biofluorescent snailfish reports the highest expression of antifreeze proteins ever observed—& raises concerns about its survival under warming conditions.
More on this study, co-authored by Museum researchers David Gruber & John Sparks: https://t.co/Gjq5rUnMHl pic.twitter.com/45yvBEwiaP
— American Museum of Natural History (@AMNH) August 16, 2022
The flashy fish are certainly not the first creature to exhibit biofluorescence — the ability to transform blue light into green, red, or yellow — but they are the first ever found in the dark, cold Arctic waters, as the characteristic is typically found in fish that swim a bit closer to the sun.
Keeps the Blood PumpingShocked by the rare find, the team set out to discover exactly what caused their signature glow. “While we did not locate this gene,” study author David Gruber said in an email to Gizmodo, “we noticed that some of the most highly expressed genes were related to antifreeze proteins.”
Fast-forward to August 16, when their findings were finally published in the journal Evolutionary Bioinformatics. Their article revealed that the fish produce “antifreeze proteins in the top 1% of all other fish genes,” keeping their blood from freezing.
Unlike cold-blooded species, when a fish’s bodily fluids freeze, their whole bodies do, turning them into glorified fish sticks! The production of antifreeze proteins combats this issue by maintaining their blood’s biochemical properties, ensuring that the fish can just keep swimming despite the frigid temperatures!
Warming Waters Spell Bad News for the SnailfishAlthough researchers believe the antifreeze proteins could help snailfish adapt to a subzero environment, the rapid production also raises questions about how the species will fare as the Arctic’s waters continue to warm.
According to AMNH curator and the study’s co-author John Sparks, the snailfish could face some tough competition as climate change encourages warmer-water species to swim north. These species will be able to survive without working overtime on “metabolically costly” antifreeze production, putting the snailfish at risk of becoming prey.
By Meghan Yani, contributor for Ripleys.com
EXPLORE THE ODD IN PERSON! Discover hundreds of strange and unusual artifacts and get hands-on with unbelievable interactives when you visit a Ripley’s Odditorium!Source: Scientists Find Glowing Arctic Fish With Antifreeze In Its Veins
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