A Truly Unbelievable Story

By Martine Mackenzie

The words “BELIEVE IT OR NOT” have been synonymous with the name Ripley for over 100 years now.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not! was founded by Robert L. Ripley, an American cartoonist, explorer, reporter, adventurer, and collector, who traveled to 201 countries seeking the odd, the unusual, and the unexplained. Over the last century, the Ripley name has become associated with an anthology of concepts including newspaper panel series, radio shows, television shows, books, and museums bearing the trademark name, “Odditorium.”

Photos courtesy of Ripley's Entertainment Inc.

However, Robert Ripley began his career as a cartoonist, whose series, “Believe It or Not” was started 100 years ago on December 19, 1918, when the first “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” cartoon was published. Ripley claimed to be able to “prove every statement he made” and hired professional fact researcher Norbert Pearlroth to help him out. Pearlroth spent the next 52 years in the New York Public Library, working ten hours a day, six days a week, assembling an array of “Believe It or Not!’” odd facts for the cartoon series and also verified small-town claims submitted by readers.

In the 1930s, Ripley expanded into other forms of media by beginning a 14-year run on radio. During this time, he also hosted the first of a series of two dozen Believe It or Not! theatrical shorts for Warner Bros. & Vitaphone. In 1948, the radio show drew to a close and was replaced with the Ripley’s Believe it or Not! television series, a bold move for Ripley to make since few American households at the time had television sets. Their television shows garner worldwide interest, and a brand-new Ripley’s Believe It or Not! show is slated to debut on June 9, 2019, on the Travel Channel, hosted by iconic and veteran actor, Bruce Campbell.

Ripley was struggling with health issues and passed away from a heart attack at the age of 58. His ideas and legacy live on in Ripley Entertainment, a company bearing his name, and owned since 1985 by the Jim Pattison Group, Canada’s second-largest privately held company. Ripley Entertainment continues to air national television shows, features publications of oddities, and has holdings in a variety of popular public attractions.

Photos courtesy of Ripley's Entertainment Inc.

Photos courtesy of Ripley's Entertainment Inc.

A visit to Niagara Falls will bring you the opportunity to come face to face with some of the 20,000 photographs, 30,000 artifacts and more than 100,000 cartoon panels that Ripley’s has in its collection. You can experience three unique attractions: Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium, Ripley’s Moving Theater, and Louis Tussaud’s Waxworks.

The Ripley’s Believe it or Not! Odditorium on Clifton Hill is shaped like the Empire State Building fallen over, with King Kong standing on top of it and boasts over 10,000 square feet of space. This very cool place is the second oldest Ripley’s Museum

in the world and is one of two in Canada. The Odditorium has more than 15 themed rooms, carrying over 400 unbelievable exhibits. In keeping with the Ripley tradition dating back to 1964, the crew here has continued to scour the globe to bring to Niagara the most amazing and “believe it or not” exhibits, and is regularly updating these exhibits with new and even more amazing pieces.

Just across the street, you will find Ripley’s Moving Theater, Niagara’s original 4D theater. This state of the art theater with digital effects, surround sound, and motion seats will have you feeling as though you are in the movie! Strap yourselves into your seats because you are in for a bumpy ride in this seriously realistic Moving Theater experience that is fun for all ages.

Around the corner, on Victoria Street, you will be invited to mingle with the stars of yesterday and today at Louis Tussaud’s Waxworks. Here, you will find over 100 true-to-life wax figures that you can actually get up close and personal with. The stunning, English Tudor style building is made up of 16 spectacularly themed galleries. Nothing is behind glass, and you will instantly recognize the many celebrities and historically prominent figures. Pose for a selfie with ‘Game of Thrones’ Tyrion Lannister, or with Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley. If you can muster up the courage, the Hall of Horrors, featuring some of the scariest people in life and in entertainment, is a true must see!

A hop, skip, and a jump away, in Toronto, you will find Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada. Just take the Queen Elizabeth Highway (QEW) Toronto and follow the signs to bring you directly to downtown, just southeast of the CN Tower. This fabulous aquarium has 5.7 million litres (1.25 million gallons) of marine and freshwater habitats from across the world. The building on Bremner Boulevard features a multi-faceted shell, clad in large aluminum panels that create the illusion of the earth’s crust peeling away, giving us a peek into the aquatic world. You will find 10 different galleries that showcase more than 16,000 exotic sea and freshwater specimens from more than 450 species. You can spend an entire day in the 135,000 square feet of space that was opened to the public in October 2013 and is operated by Ripley Entertainment.

Whether it’s Ripley’s cartoons, the longest-running cartoon in history, their attractions, books, television shows, or just strange stories, Robert Ripley has left an UNBELIEVABLE legacy for all of us to enjoy and be thrilled by. TM