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9 Weird Facts To Know Before Seeing Oppenheimer And Barbie
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Two movies, one release date. Greta Gerwig’s pink and playful Barbie features the iconic doll grappling with the real world. Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan’s dark and destructive Oppenheimer tells the tale of the scientist behind the atomic bomb. They seem to have only a premier date in common. That, and plenty of memes surrounding the stark contrast and “correct” viewing order.
Since it was first announced that both movies would open in theaters on the same day, people began to compare them and plan which to watch. With viewers torn between two highly anticipated films, a plan to see both back-to-back emerged: “Barbenheimer.” With a combined runtime of almost 5 hours (not accounting for any break between), it’s an ambitious undertaking.
But wait, before you turn your phone off for a full day at the movies, keep reading to learn some odd and intriguing facts surrounding the films.
1. The DIY double-feature is really happeningThough not originally advertised as a double-feature experience, the number of people who bought tickets to see both movies on the same day has increased dramatically. According to AMC Entertainment, the largest movie theater chain in the world, more than 40,000 people have bought tickets to Barbenheimer! That’s double the amount of people that had bought tickets as of a week before the release date, The New York Times reported.
2. Google got a makeover fit for Barbie LandIf you head over to the search engine, type in “Barbie” and hit enter, you’re in for a shower of sparkles and a positively pink results page. You can also prompt this Barbie experience by searching for Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, or Greta Gerwing on Google. Go on, give it a try!
3. The first artificial nuclear reaction, pencils, and Ripley’s have one thing in commonGraphite! To prove that a nuclear reaction was possible, scientists at the University of Chicago needed a way to slow down and control the process. They found that graphite, the stuff in pencil lead, would actually slow down neutrons that were emitted during the reaction. This led to the first controlled nuclear chain reaction on December 2, 1942, according to The Smithsonian. So where does Ripley’s come in? By purchasing a piece of nuclear history!
Graphite disc from Chicago Pile-1 (CP-1). The first nuclear energy reactor which launched the first successful experiment in atomic energy and now a part of Ripley’s collection.
4. The Barbie set caused an international pink paint shortage (well, at least for one company)During filming, supply chain issues and a freeze in Texas impacted Rosco’s (a company known for making products for the entertainment industry) paint inventory. Set design for the Barbie movie cleared the company of all of their remaining pink paint, so if anyone in the world wanted some of that shade, they would be out of luck!
5. There’s a crater, and an asteroid, named after J. Robert OppenheimerDid you know that Moon craters are usually named after lunar scientists, astronomers, and physicists? The person has to have been dead for more than two years before the naming to be considered. Beside the crater on the Moon, there’s also an asteroid, number 67085, named after J. Robert Oppenheimer.
The Oppenheimer crater, on the far side of the moon. Credit: NASA Via Wikimedia Commons.
6. Margot Robbie charged fines on setThe actress who plays Barbie charged the cast and crew if they didn’t wear pink on certain days, according to People. “Margot had this pink day once a week, where everyone had to wear something pink,” said Ryan Gosling (who plays Ken). “And if you didn’t, you were fined. She would go around collecting the fines, and she would donate it to a charity.”
7. Oppenheimer didn’t come up with his famous quoteFollowing the Trinity nuclear test, surrounded by people as they realized the world would never be the same, J. Robert Oppenheimer said, “I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” This quote is actually a line from the Hindu scripture “Bhagavad Gita.”
Recalling the moment in a TV broadcast, Oppenheimer stated, “I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty, and, to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, ‘Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.’ I suppose we all thought that, one way or another.”
8. There’s no writing, or water, in Barbie LandWhen showing off the Barbie Dream House to the crew at Architectural Digest, Margot Robbie pointed out something interesting. “There is no water in Barbie Land. There’s no water or fire. There are no elements,” said Robbie. And despite the Barbie font being iconic, there actually isn’t any legible writing in Barbie Land. The “writing” is just kid-like scribbles.
9. There’s no CGI explosions in OppenheimerAfter hearing that there wasn’t any CGI used to create the explosions, some fans speculated that director Christopher Nolan actually detonated an atomic bomb when making the movie. Nolan told The Hollywood Reporter, “It’s flattering that people would think I would be capable of something as extreme as that on the one hand, but it’s also a little bit scary.” He didn’t explain how he created the explosion in the film, but he did say that he used practical effects.
Bonus Fact: Seeing a Ken doll face down in mud drove Ryan Gosling to the roleThe character of Ken is a bit different from Gosling’s usual roles. He explained to GQ that his daughters are a bit rough with their Ken doll, and said, “I did see him, like, face down in the mud outside one day, next to a squished lemon and it was like, ‘This guy’s story does need to be told,’ you know?” It goes to show that inspiration can be found in unexpected moments.
Are you planning to see Barbenheimer? If so, let us know in the comments which movie you’re seeing first and why!
By Kelsey Roslin, 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: 9 Weird Facts To Know Before Seeing Oppenheimer And Barbie
July 20, 2023
Before Oppenheimer: Ripley’s Buys Part of First Nuclear Reactor
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Christopher Nolan’s $100-million epic, Oppenheimer, releases in theaters on Friday, July 21. The movie is expected to offer an electrifying portrayal of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the “Father of the Atomic Bomb,” a physicist who was pivotal in developing the first nuclear weapon.
Just in time for the film’s release, Ripley’s recently purchased at auction its very own piece of atomic history: a graphite disc from Chicago Pile-1 — the world’s first artificial nuclear reactor.
New to the Ripley’s Collection: Ultra-pure graphite from Chicago Pile-1, site of the first human-made nuclear chain reaction. Image credit: RR Auction.
Nuclear Chain Reactions: Building Up to BombsBefore they could make and test the bomb, Oppenheimer and the other Manhattan Project scientists first had to figure out how to create a controlled chain reaction within uranium, splitting the nuclei and releasing monumental amounts of energy. It is from these earlier tests that the latest addition to the Ripley’s Collection originated.
Imagine a row of dominoes — when you tip one over, it triggers a cascading tumble that takes down the whole line. That’s essentially how a nuclear chain reaction works, except that instead of dominoes you’re working with atomic nuclei and the reaction doesn’t cause dominoes to fall but instead produces more and more energy as it moves along.
Chicago Pile-1: The First Ever Nuclear ReactorChicago Pile-1, or CP-1, was named for the way it was built. Essentially, CP-1 was a 20-foot-tall, carefully arranged pile of graphite bricks (yes, the same stuff that’s in your pencil) filled with smaller blocks of uranium. It was constructed at the University of Chicago — under the football stands!
Sketch of the world’s first nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1 or CP-1, which was constructed under the football grandstands at the University of Chicago. Image credit: U.S. Department of Energy.
On December 2, 1942, in front of a large number of scientists led by physicist Enrico Fermi, CP-1 proved it could produce a self-sustaining nuclear reaction that could be used as a model for large-scale plutonium production — and yes, you guessed it, for building a nuclear bomb.
Today, CP-1 no longer exists in its original form, having been dismantled due to concerns of radioactive contamination.
Ripley’s Atomic Artifacts: Relics from Oppenheimer’s Trinity TestThis isn’t the first Ripley’s has dabbled in nuclear history. Among our collection of wonders, we also hold real pieces of Trinitite, the glassy residue left behind by Oppenheimer’s infamous Trinity test — the first-ever nuclear detonation.
One of several pieces of Trinitite in the Ripley’s collection.
Conducted on July 16, 1945, the Trinity test in Alamogordo, New Mexico, marked the climax of the Manhattan Project. It was the successful detonation of “Gadget,” a massive spherical bomb that exploded with “between 15 and 20 kilotons of force, slightly more than the Little Boy bomb dropped on Hiroshima.”
The extreme heat of the blast melted the desert sand, creating a massive crater of a radioactive greenish, glassy substance known as Trinitite. Until the sale of Trinitite became illegal in 1952, many tourists and collectors visited the site of the explosion to pick up their own pieces!
History Before Your Very EyesSo, along with viewing Oppenheimer (and possibly Barbie, as well) on the big screen this summer, why not get an even closer view of history with an adventure at Ripley’s?
By Diana Bocco, 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: Before Oppenheimer: Ripley’s Buys Part of First Nuclear Reactor
July 19, 2023
An Underwater Music Festival in Florida Raises Coral Reef Awareness
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Traditional marketing advice says, “Go where your audience is.” The officials behind The Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival near Big Pine Key, Florida, have o-fish-ally taken this next-level. Their audience? Scuba divers and snorkelers. To reach this demographic, festival organizers host their event under the sea in the Florida Keys!
And they’ve done so for 38 years, surfing waves of success. Hundreds of divers and snorkelers showed up for this year’s event. Sound like a fishy proposition? Let’s find out!
Here’s everything you need to know about The Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival and the ins and outs of below-surface concerts.
The Lower Keys Underwater Music FestivalSix miles south of Big Pine Key, Florida, you’ll find Looe Key Reef where The Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival occurs annually. Looe Key Reef is part of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, established in 1990 to protect 3,800 square miles of ocean, including the only living coral barrier reef in the United States.
Looe Key Reef is the perfect spot to raise awareness about coral reef conservation. The festival introduces attendees to the wonders of this incredible ecosystem, accompanied by ethereal water harmonies and melodies. Interspersed with aquatic hits are messages about what snorkelers and divers can do to shrink their underwater fin-prints.
The festival even made a recent appearance in the Ripley’s Cartoon!
Over the decades, the music festival has grown dramatically from a small grassroots effort to an internationally recognized event. Moreover, the festival is all about practicing what organizers preach. The action happens in a sandy area removed from the reef.
Why? To ensure musicians don’t disturb marine life or the coral during their performances. Dave Turner, formerly of the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce, emphasizes, “The preservation of the reef is our main purpose.”
Ocean-Themed Hits and Mermaids GaloreThe music showcased at this year’s festival included ocean-themed hits like the theme from The Little Mermaid, the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine,” and Jimmy Buffet’s “Fins.” Beyond the auditory element, 2023’s Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival also included many gorgeous visual elements.
At the Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival, divers dressed as mermaids mimed with instruments at Looe Key reef in the National Marine Sanctuary to promote environmentally responsible diving and safeguard the Florida Keys coral reef pic.twitter.com/ZepOrOlYM5
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 10, 2023
They included the stunning setting near one of the so-called “rainforests of the sea,” and a colorful cast of costumed characters. Mermaid garb proved a natural favorite, as did fish and shark costumes. The Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce organized the festival in cooperation with local radio station 104.1 FM, which piped in music.
More About Underwater MusicAlthough Florida is dabbling in experimental territory with its underwater music festival, the idea of aquatic audio isn’t new. One group that’s pioneered this area of entertainment for years is Denmark’s Aquasonic.
In fact, they hold the distinction of being the first ensemble to perform concerts submerged in water. And they do it without relying on SCUBA gear to breathe! (In all fairness, the water tanks they sit in during performances keep them close enough to the surface for easy access to gulps of air.)
Besides specially crafted tanks for performance, they’ve also spent years perfecting their musical instruments to create haunting, rich, liquid-smooth tunes. Their instruments include the hydraulophone (underwater organ), a rotacorda, a crystallophone, and a violin modified to play under the surface.
If you’re wondering why Aquasonic hasn’t paired up with the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce for a live show yet, we get it. That said, the group would need to add SCUBA equipment to their roster (and marine-themed costumes!) before tackling nep-tunes 20 feet beneath the waves.
Can’t make it to the Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival? Don’t fret! You can always catch a dive show at Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada!
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: An Underwater Music Festival in Florida Raises Coral Reef Awareness
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