WELCOME TO
  RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT ODDITORIUM  
VIA SFPNN VICARIOUS TRAVEL

I spent a day in New York's Times Square while waiting for Dave to finish a business meeting that brought us to the city for a long weekend.  One of the places I visited was the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Odditorium at 234 West 42nd Street (Between 7th & 8th Ave.)

 

I was hesitant about going in thinking that it would be a lot of silly exhibits, but I had a discount coupon and had time to spare, so I decided to give it a go.  I wasn't disappointed. Yes, there were some silly exhibits, but there were also a lot of interesting and educational items as well.  I spent over an hour exploring the 20 themed galleries spanning two floors.

For over 40 years, Robert Ripley -- the modern Marco Polo and the real-life Indiana Jones -- traveled the world collecting the unbelievable, the inexplicable, the one-of-a-kind. All of it amazing and much of it extremely amusing. His collection is housed in over 27 museums in 10 countries. Each museum’s collection is 90% unique and different. After his famous Believe It or Not! cartoon took off in hundreds of Sunday newspapers coast to coast, Robert Ripley became an avid world traveler, seeking stories of bizarre and unusual proportions to include in his internationally known feature.

Below you will find some of the unique displays with a brief description.  Enjoy your visit into the world of the odd and bizarre . . . .

 

 

 

Albino giraffe from Zimbabwe - one of only three ever known to exist.  Hanging above is a 14 foot crocodile from the Nile

 

 

 

 

 

A 10 x10 foot section of the fallen Berlin Wall that is permanently on display

 

 

 

 

Buddha made from more than $1 million in shredded American currency

 

The infamous two-headed calf that is shown in Ripley advertisements

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Wadlow, at 8-foot-11 the tallest man on Earth when he died in 1940

 

 3,197 lb. Meteorite
Found in Guangxi, China (Nantan County) in 1958. It fell to earth during
the Ming Dynasty on June 11, 1529. Composed of 92% iron, the meteorite is
the third largest Nantan meteorite on display anywhere in the world.

 

 

 

 

 

Collection of 24 shrunken heads that were the spoils of war for the Jivaro Indians of Ecuador.  Believe It Or Not, Ripley's Times Square boasts more shrunken heads on display than the American Museum of Natural History.

 

Leaving the museum I had to go through the "Black Hole".  But I could only take two steps in and then backed out.  (I had to take the "Coward's Way Out Door)  It seemed easy just looking at it from the outside, but the lights and spinning walls made me feel off balance and dizzy and I had to grab the hand rails to steady myself. The Black Hole is a spinning tunnel room where you walk across a wooden bridge while brightly flashing lights and the wall spins around you.  A fun way to end the exploration of the Odd and Bizarre !

 

© Patty