Ripley's Believe it or Not!

[clyde]

This morning I realized that Ripley's Believe It or Not! had a huge impact on my taste at a young age. I am interested in having a discussion about what the appeal is of these exotic factoids, their accompanying relics or illustrations, and the aesthetic of an explorer travelling to every place in the world to confirm or disprove things they've heard that seem impossible in the early 20th century.

[dibs]

 the aesthetic of an explorer travelling to every place in the world to confirm or disprove things they've heard that seem impossible in the early 20th century.

 

I'm not joining a conversation about Guy Feiri.

[clyde]

I'm not joining a conversation about Guy Feiri.

 

Then you won't be watching this:

 

[RubixsQube]

Growing up, I had two Ripley's Believe it or Not paperback books:

 

 

These were just collections of interesting panels from the syndicated comic strip, but I must have read them hundreds of times. I also owned the board game, which was probably only played once with my family before they realized it was Not That Good of a Game. (It did feature a token that people passed around depending on who was set to play called a "Tern Token", ha ha). I was way into the idea of Ripley's Believe It Or Not, and I really think that the green book above helped contribute to my modern skepticism. When you see a book that just showcases a series of coincidences, you start to wonder that maybe collecting coincidences doesn't make them feel magical anymore. When you see everything collected, you realize that there are enough possible events that could happen in a given day that, no duh, coincidences will be everywhere. I remember going to a Ripley's Believe it Or Not Museum, and being fairly disappointed, since it didn't live up to the version that I had created in my mind, based on these books. 

[clyde]

I remember going to a Ripley's Believe it Or Not Museum, and being fairly disappointed, since it didn't live up to the version that I had created in my mind, based on these books. 

 

I went to the one in San Antonio, Texas when I was in junior-high and it felt pretty amazing at the time.

[clyde]

I started following the RBioN! Twitter-account. I prefer the dated-look of the older strips, but the contemporary strips do sometimes deliver.

https://twitter.com/ripleys/status/758225749102899200

Yesterday I found a few complete episodes of Mondo Beyondo on Youtube and I realized that it has a similar appeal for me. I think I may have gotten pulled into RBioN! by the sense of incredible coincidences and unbelievable feats initially (this was in elementary-school where we would sit and read and discuss factoids from Guiness Book of World Records during lunch), but I think it helped me develop an attraction to the aesthetic of concise reports of exotica with newspaper-illustrations brought to me by a mysterious guide. The Mondo Beyondo comparison really points out to me that a guide-character is important to me. I like being introduced to off-centered wackiness by an ring-master of some sort. I'm not sure how much RBioN! markets the world-traveler fantasy anymore, but that was a big part of the appeal for me, a context to put all these strange instances within.

[Kolzig]

The only thing Ripley's Believe It or Not brings to my mind is Dean Cain. He was the host of the tv show that used to be on tv here.

[dibs]

Oh wow clyde, that vid! Amazing!

ALso, i used to read my grandparent's copies of Ireland's Own when i was visiting them when i was a kid. I used to love the ripley's section in them.

[Vorlonesque]

The only thing Ripley's Believe It or Not brings to my mind is Dean Cain. He was the host of the tv show that used to be on tv here.

I always think of the one with Jack Palance from the 80's.

[clyde]

I just watched this hour-long documentary. I wouldn't recommend it, but i enjoyed it.