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Ripley Entertainment Inc.'s Blog, page 12
August 17, 2023
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Quite Paw-ssibly The Year’s Weirdest Bear News
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Bears are considered apex predators, securely seated at the top of the food chain. Yet, they’re anything but discerning when it comes to a calorically rich meal. Put another way, they’ll pretty much eat anything, from insects and nuts to berries and small and large animals (like deer and elk). We wouldn’t put dumpster diving past them, either. And can you blame them after months of fasting during hibernation?
Although wild animals should always be treated with caution and respect, there’s something about bears that endears them to us. After all, how many other apex predators dominate the plush bedtime toy market? Sure, stuffed shark, tiger, and wolf toys are far from unheard of. But they don’t hold the same cultural weight as a snuggly, open-armed teddy.
But that doesn’t mean the real-life critters can’t still raise a ruckus. Keep reading for a week of weird ursine stories we can bear-ly believe!
Hank the Tank No Longer on the LooseIf you haven’t heard about the saga of “Hank the Tank,” where have you been hibernating? He’s only one of the most famous and beloved serial burglars in Lake Tahoe, California. (Add to that one of the heaviest, tipping the scales at a massive 500 pounds!)
Since February 2022, he’s endeared himself to residents of the Tahoe Keys neighborhood, a posh waterfront community. The bear’s apparent aim? Getting his paws on anything and everything edible.
The result? More than 150 reports of conflict behavior and nearly 30 home break-ins. If you’re familiar with Dateline or any of the myriad true crime stories out there, you know what comes after the allegations. The collection of forensic evidence, more specifically, DNA.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) stepped in for this crucial element of the investigation. But after testing collected samples, authorities were stunned to learn that Hank didn’t act alone! At least two other adult black bears contributed to the crime spree, including a mother with three cubs.
This so-called “Henrietta the Tank” is set to be relocated to a sanctuary in Colorado, and her cubs will be rehabilitated and moved, too. The rescue proved especially timely as one cub showed signs of serious injury from a vehicle collision. Residents have also gotten more proactive about practicing bear-safe food and trash storage, and the neighborhood recently revised rules allowing temporary storage structures like bear boxes.
Delayed Passengers Bear-ly Conceal Their AngerThings happen. Especially when it comes to the air travel industry. Delays can range from weather-related to mechanically inspired and most things in between. But some excuses still take the cake.
On August 5th, passengers on an Iraqi Airways flight from Baghdad to Dubai got grounded after a bear escaped from a crate in the plane’s cargo hold. Talk about a fur-raising situation!
Aircraft crew and airport authorities transformed into temporary veterinarians to help sedate the escaped critter. And passengers sat in disbelief as the pilot explained via the overhead system the attempted “great escape.”
Fortunately, airport and airline employees were able to sedate the animal and remove it from the flight before it made the trek to Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest spot for international travel.
Chinese Zoo’s Bears Too Human?Last but not least, visitors to eastern China’s Hangzhou Zoo are raising a stink about the un-bear-able behavior of one exhibit’s sun bears. Native to Malaysia, sun bears are more diminutive than most of their furry counterparts. Yet, they can still make quite an impression, coming in around the same size as a large dog.
Unfortunately, this impression hasn’t been especially favorable in Hangzhou. The sun bears have spent too much time standing around and even ambulating. This has led to accusations that the bears in the enclosure are actually people dressed in furry costumes!
#Hangzhou Zoo has rejected rumors that some of its bears are people wearing costumes
. This came after videos of a Malayan sun bear standing on its hind legs — and looking uncannily like human — went viral on social media, triggering widespread speculation. [
/Tang FangXiao] pic.twitter.com/8pKYbnZO3w
— Hangzhoufeel (@hangzhoufeel) August 7, 2023
To assuage the rumors, zoo officials have added a new sign to the exhibit. It reads, “Some people think I stand like a person. It seems you don’t understand me very well.” But not everyone’s buying this story.
Buttressing suspicions are linkages in the recent past to Chinese zoos accused of painting donkeys to pass off as zebras and coloring the fur of canines to make them look like wolves. For anyone who remembers the story of Pedals, the ambulating bear, you know that bears can look an awful lot like humans when cruising on their hind legs.
For those who can’t get enough of bears, we recommend visiting our Ripley’s location in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Located in the heart of Smokey Mountain country, few sights are more iconic than ursines, and you’ll find statue versions of cubs on the outer façade of this location. Finally, don’t forget to check out these roly-poly grizzlies heavy on cuteness factor.
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!
August 14, 2023
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August 11, 2023
Kentucky Man Finds 700+ Gold Coins in Cornfield
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Earlier this year, a Kentuckian found a cache of gold coins so valuable that it has been dubbed the “Great Kentucky Hoard.” The discovery has been compared to winning the lottery. More than 700 Civil War-era coins were found, dating between 1840 and 1863. Among them are several rare $20 Gold Liberty Double Eagles that experts value in the six-figure range. There were also several $10 Gold Liberty and $1 Gold Indian princess dollars, according to GovMint.com
A Find Equivalent to Winning the LotteryThe man who found the coins, who prefers to remain anonymous, posted a video about his incredible cornfield find, calling it “the most insane thing ever.” He enthused, “Those are all $1 gold coins, $20 gold coins, $10 gold coins. And look. I’m still digging them out.”
The coins were authenticated by the Numismatic Guaranty Company, which cleaned them, removed contaminants, and prepared them for preservation. The result displayed an “eye-popping luster.” The majority of the coins received grades ranging from Extremely Fine to Mint State condition. It’s believed that they didn’t spend much time in circulation before burial. Additionally, some might not have seen any use in commerce at all!
Why Buried? Experts Have A Few TheoriesIt is possible that the original owner stockpiled them during the Civil War as an insurance policy. They may have died before being able to collect the coins after the war. Alternatively, they may have forgotten where they put the hoard.
“Back in those days, you couldn’t always go to a bank or put them in a safe or store them in a vault,” Jeff Garrett, owner of Mid-American Rare Coin Gallery in Lexington, Kentucky, told Fox News Digital. “Nothing was really available to somebody looking to hide their wealth, so the best way to do it was to bury it in the ground.”
Archaeologist Ryan McNutt from Georgia Southern University told Live Science that the location of the cache and the time period indicates that the coins may have been buried prior to the summer 1863 campaign by Confederate John Hunt Morgan, which became known as Morgan’s Raid. The military terrorized civilians in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio during this period.
A Hidden Fortune
A man from Kentucky unearthed a Civil War-era fortune of over 700 gold coins in his cornfield.
Now that’s a good day on the farm. pic.twitter.com/Ayvkvxh4rH
— Gold Telegraph ⚡ (@GoldTelegraph_) July 10, 2023
It is worth noting that the coins were federal, not Confederacy, currency. The owner may have earned them by working for the federal government. It would have been smart to hide them from Confederate soldiers.
McNutt believes the coins had a value of approximately $1,000 in 1864, which would have equaled several years’ pay. “That makes me speculate that whoever buried it probably died and wasn’t able to go back for it,” he explained.
Garrett noted, “The importance of this discovery cannot be overstated, as the stunning number of over 700 gold dollars represents a virtual time capsule of Civil War-era coinage, including coins from the elusive Dahlonega Mint. Finding one mint condition 1863 Double Eagle would be an important numismatic event. Finding nearly a roll of superb examples is hard to comprehend.”
Beating The OddsAccording to Andrew Salzberg, executive vice president of the Certified Collectibles Group, the odds of finding this type of treasure can be compared to winning the lottery: “It’s a truly historic and rare find. I can’t disagree that, as far as coins being found in the ground, this is one of the most significant finds of the 21st century.”
Salzberg told Spectrum News 1 that he believed the coins were worth over $2 million. Previously, 1863 Liberty Double Eagle sold for a record-breaking $381,875 at auction. You can find some Double Eagles at GovMint.com for over $100,000 each.
Finding a cache of coins is not as uncommon as you would think; although it is not always as bountiful as the Great Kentucky Hoard. In 2022, a man and his cousin found an estimated 1 million pennies worth around $10,000 in a crawl space of a house they were cleaning. The value did not consider any rare coins that might have been part of the discovery.
By Noelle Talmon, 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!Up Close & Peculiar: Vampire Defense Kit
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Today: Vampire Defense Kit
Sharpen your wooden stakes, because it’s time to hunt down some vampires!
What’s Inside?Hello everyone, I am here today with a very spooky, very scary vampire defense kit! This particular kit contains everything you would need to fight against a vampire. Starting with a cross and holy water to counteract their supposed cursed origins. Followed by a wooden stake and even a gun and equipment for making silver bullets!
Vampire-like creatures have been described in myths, legends, and tales for millennia, but the vampire craze of the 17th-century is still apparent today. People in the eastern reaches of Europe were scared of vampires. They even took precautions that last to this day. For example, graveyards in Poland were discovered to have people shackled at the neck, as to make sure nobody would have a chance to rise from the dead.
We also have these kind of suspicious looking vials here, marked as “Professor Bloomberg’s New Serum,” “Elixir of Vitriol,” and this one simply marked “Vampirism.” I have to wonder when the person who put this together thought they would have time to feed the vampire one of these potions to cure them? Maybe some time after stabbing them in the heart?
Behind The Defense KitFor roughly the last fifty years, these kits have served as a reminder of the dangers of traveling to Eastern Europe at the end of the 19th century. These kits were often sold to wealthy travelers to protect them against these creatures of the night… or so we were told!
Believe it or not, these kits were actually assembled in the 1970’s by Professor Ernest Bloomberg! These are total gafts and are now regarded as modern art pieces more than anything anyone could actually use.
Would you carry around a vampire defense kit? Let us know in the comments and I’ll see you next time.
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!
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