👽 Abducted by UFOs?

#1 – The Iron Lung: A Mechanical Miracle of the Polio Era

How does the iron lung work? It’s not as straightforward as it may sound.

How does the iron lung work, you ask? It’s not as straightforward as it may sound.

The iron lung was developed in 1927 at the Harvard School of Public Health by Philip Drinker and Louis Agassiz Shaw. The first clinical use occurred in 1928. The iron lung was originally brought about as a solution for coal-gas poisoning but would become best known for aiding polio victims...

#2 – The Cryptic Story of Jim Sullivan

Was Jim abducted by aliens?

Jim Sullivan, a name that once lingered on the outskirts of the music industry, has once again resurfaced, and not necessarily for his music.

Sullivan's story is one that embodies the essence of an artist who remained on the verge of success throughout his career. His debut album released in 1969 and exhibited a blend of Americana, folk, and rock, with a signature weathered voice. However, despite rubbing shoulders with famed musicians, success always eluded him.

But that’s not all, not quite. The most perplexing aspect of his story is his mysterious disappearance in the New Mexico desert in 1975...

#3 – The Amazing Axolotl: Superpower Salamanders

The axolotl’s amazing regeneration has scientists all over the world fascinated!

Meet the water dog! More commonly known as the axolotl, the word axolotl loosely translates to “water dog” from the Aztec Nahuatl language.

This salamander species is pretty amazing. For one, the axolotl has a special life cycle where they skip the usual change into adults and instead keep their baby-like features throughout their whole life, a process called neoteny. This means they still have things like external gills, tails, and fins, and they don’t develop moveable eyelids...

#4 – Up Close & Peculiar With Charlie McCarthy

Only a dummy wouldn’t listen to this doll!

Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his beloved doll, Charlie McCarthy, were one of the most popular acts in the 1930s. But how did this dummy become one of the most influential comedians of all time?

Edgar Bergen learned ventriloquism from a book he bought for just twenty-five cents when he was eleven years old. After a few years of practicing, a famous vaudeville performer named The Great Lester took notice and started to give him free lessons.

Bergen described in an interview how he first used his ventriloquism skills to answer roll calls for missing classmates in his freshman year of high school. In his senior year, he got Charlie, and the rest was history...

Dare to Discover

Prepare to get lost in a vortex of weird and wonderful stories with Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Dare to Discover! From jaw-dropping feats and silly animals to unusual art and strange places, our next annual book is full of strange-but-true facts, fascinating features, and phenomenal photography from around the world.

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Venturing through themed galleries, adults and children alike will become immersed in curiosities, incredible art, animal oddities, pop-culture memorabilia, interactive games, and stories of people and places that are incredibly hard to believe, but undeniably true!

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