Believe It, or Not! Ripley’s is heading to Polokwane

POLOKWANE – The spectacular and odd world of Ripley’s Believe it or Not! will visit Polokwane next month.

Some of the Ripley’s Believe it or Not! artifacts will be on display at Mall of the North from 19 December to 10 January.

“Enthusiasts can look forward to more than 140 artifacts displayed in 16 distinctively designed themed areas.”

“This thought-provoking Ripley’s Believe it or Not! Exhibition allows for interactivity and ample photo opportunities,” says René van der Merwe, marketing manager at Mall of the North.

Ripley’s Believe it or Not foundation

Ripley’s Believe it or Not! is synonymous with the weird and wonderful found in the world.

The foundation of the Ripley collection was laid by Robert L. Ripley (1890–1949), a cartoonist, explorer, reporter, adventurer and collector who traveled to 201 countries in 35 years, seeking the odd, the unusual, and the unexplained.

In his endless search for unbelievable stories to draw in his immensely popular newspaper cartoon feature, he acquired hundreds of exotic artifacts from around the world.

Ripley’s first Believe It or Not! book, a collections of his newspaper cartoon drawings, appeared in 1929 and 1931.

The success of the first book led to a live radio show. Starting in 1930 and running continuously until 1944, Ripley hosted a wildly successful weekly radio show.

Based loosely on his radio show format, Ripley displayed some of his artifacts, drew cartoons on camera, and re-enacted fantastic unbelievable stories followed by interviews with the actual “stars” of the stories.

Ripley’s television show was the first “reality” show and was growing in popularity until his 13th show on 23 May 1949 when he had a heart attack while on stage.

The majority of his artifacts were sold at a four-day long public auction, and the lion’s share was bought up by New York City entrepreneur, John Arthur.

In December 1950, Arthur opened the first permanent Ripley’s Believe It or Not!® Odditorium in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.

The Ripley collection represents over 95 years of collecting by Robert Ripley and his corporate heirs. The foundation of the more than 25 000-piece collection was gathered and assembled by Ripley himself on his many travels around the world, but the Ripley’s entertainment staff continues to add new pieces to the collection, almost daily.

There are exhibits from the microscopic world, and the worlds of science and computer technologies; plus artifacts that have been flown in space, including flags flown on the moon, and meteorites from Mars.

Ripley was intrigued with animal oddities, poor creatures dealt strange fates by Mother Nature. The Ripley collection today includes a horse with three legs, two-headed calves, pigs, rabbits, turtles and kittens.

Ripley was also fascinated by people, especially those with extreme cases of human growth.

Among Ripley’s most exotic treasures are fascinating cultural artifacts acquired in the primitive outposts of civilisation, rare objects like decorated cannibal skulls and shrunken heads.

Many of Ripley’s best artwork have been created from unusual things, including ordinary household objects like popsicle sticks, cigarette wrappers, dog hair, black beans, jelly beans, laundry lint, toast, toothpicks and match sticks.