Ripley Radio

In our first show of 2013, we talk with the king of Stupid Human Tricks, Brian Pankey. He holds more than 2,000 records for doing stupid things! Gail Ruben, the doyenne of death, joins us again and talks about the brighter side of death – the unique, weird and sometimes strange funerals that follow. Other strange things discussed on the January 7 episode of Ripley Radio, the official broadcast partner of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! includes a discussion with Mort Banks who sold a gallon of BBQ Sauce on eBay for nearly $10,000. Tune in to see what kind of sauce brought in that kind of dough! We also hear from Star Donovan who has created an entirely new image of vampires – for grade school kids – in a series of books. Are some “urban legends” really true? We hear that some are much more than myths. Benjamin Gibbard provides our first musical egress of 2013 with Teardrop Window.

We don’t sing Auld Lang Syne, but we do get the year off to a pleasurable start with an unbelievably weird, bizarre and totally fun show. We hear about a Mexican Restaurant in Los Angeles where the rock group The Doors once had a recording studio and you’ll be surprised what now occupies what was once the sound booth! We also learn that Charlie Andrews is one tough dude! He is the reigning world champion jouster and he explains that it is definitely a sport in which you WILL get hurt.Additional Bizarre, Unusual and Weird Topics discussed on the December 31 episode of Ripley Radio, the official broadcast partner of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, include: Pat Croce, the owner of St. Augustine’s Pirate and Treasure Museum tells us that his crew has discovered two ships that were part of Sir Francis Drake’s final expedition; we hear that ghosts were blamed for a stash of items stolen from a local police precinct that were found in one of the cop’s basement; a cupcake bakery in the UK nearly went out of busin

TV adventurer, author, actor and world traveler Piers Gibbon stops by Ripley Radio this week and tells us about his latest National Geographic Channel show, The Witch Doctor Will See You Now! , Jodi Pliszka explains what the “Alien Hands” syndrome is all about and provides a few very graphic bizarre examples of what can happen if you have this affliction.Also on the December 25 episode of Ripley Radio, the official broadcast partner of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!: Return Intern Abby reports that the 7 billionth human on Planet Earth was born on Halloween, a year ago in the Philippines; Chris Epting reports on a booth in Pete’s Tavern in Lower Manhattan where O. Henry sat while writing the Gift of the Magi in 1906; We hear that the Sugar Plum Fairy of St. Charles, Mo., was fired just before Christmas and learn of the “Save the Sugar Plum Fairy” groups that have sprung up in an attempt to get her coveted job back; and Edward the archivist relates how bizarre it was spending the day in Thailand, with three “

This week we feature a Florida woman who left $1,000 in cash on the kitchen counter only to be eaten by her dog! How she got it back may surprise you! We also discover that at least one pregnant woman craves roadkill, not ice cream. Also on the December 17 episode of we hear about the holiday activities at Ripley attractions across America. We talk with Michael Hirsch of the New York City Believe It or Not! museum who tells us about his month-long Ripley-style fun, which includes an opportunity to have a mini-Santa sit on YOUR lap! Kim Kiff, manager of the St. Augustine, Fla., Believe It or Not! museum describes her Santa’s Village and the city’s Nights of Lights and tells us that all Florida residents get into all the Ripley attractions state-wide for half-price in December. In addition: We learn of Christmas customs of far-away lands: burning goats in Sweden, holiday meals at KFC in Japan, and defecating dogs in Spain; We learn that a bakery refused to bake a birthday cake for a child – named Adolf Hitler;

Two weeks before Christmas 2012, Ripley Radio takes a look at the darker side of the jolly fat guy dressed in red, including a glimpse at Krampus, which legend says follows Santa around and eats little kids who have been bad. We also hear that our dearly deceased friends and relatives may be trying to reach us from the other side. Author Joe Higgins explains a few ways they may be trying to reach us. Also on the December 10 episode, Scott Douglas of Runner’s World magazine tells us about a runner who completed a full marathon wearing only store bought flip flops, and Jodi Pliszka explains why doctors implanted horns on the head of an infant boy. Musical stylist, the late Eartha Kitt, provides us with our Christmas musical egress this week with the best recording ever of Santa Baby.

Canadian sideshow performer, The Great Orbax, wanted to learn to tattoo, so he climbed aboard a wooden roller coaster and practiced - on his brother Sweet Pepper Klopek, while moving 50 mph! Hear from Orbax and Pepper on how this huge promotional stunt played out! The renown and very green Lizardman takes a break from a performance and explains what and why he does what he does.Also on the December 3 episode of Ripley Radio, we hear about a doctor who cut off a part of a woman’s skull and stored it in her stomach for several weeks and we are informed that you can learn a great deal about a person by observing on which finger they wear their rings. Our guest, Barbara Berg, calls it Ring Shui. We also learn that scientists think that by shooting paint balls at an approaching asteroid, the earth may be saved! We turn to Django Django’s Hail Bop for our musical egress this week.

Nick Kleckner was homeless and adrift the day he decided to walk from Florida to California. He not only found the West Coast, but a new direction in life as well. He tells us about his remarkable 178 day journey and how it turned his life around. Also on the November 26 episode of Ripley Radio: We follow the journey of Oliver Cromwell’s head, for 300 years after his beheading; Coach Meg from the Harvard School of Mind Control drops by; Don Ecker of the Dark Matters radio show tells us there are more UFOs up there than flying saucers; and we hear of a new Denny’s menu featuring Hobbit-themed food items.

Author and doyenne of death, Gail Ruben visits Ripley Radio this week and tells us about her quest to crash 30 funerals of total strangers in 30 days. Then she blogs about the deceased and her experiences at the funeral. Taking a whimsical approach to death and funerals is her forte.In Jackpotting with James Taylor, the sideshow historian talks about one of his most unusual friends, Percilla the Monkey Girl. Now deceased, Percilla spent decades on the circus and carnival sideshow circuit, dancing for thousands of paying customers and showing off her body – totally covered with hair.Chris Epting discusses a very unusual site in Long Beach, Calif. – A family of sea turtles living and thriving in the warm waters of a small channel next to a power plant! Angela reveals the top occupations in which the employees need to drink the most coffee to survive a day at work, Ralf explains how a baby doll saved an entire family from perishing in a house fire and Kim Kiff, manager of the Ripley’s attractions in St. August

Tisha UnArmed is a video star. Her talent? She videos herself tying her shoes, making a sandwich and doing other things that most of us consider normal, everyday tasks. What makes her videos unique is that she does all these things with NO arms. Tisha tells us that she also takes requests. Chad Lewis reveals several renown Earthly “portals” that are believed to lead to heaven and/or hell.Also on the November 12 episode of Ripley Radio, the official radio show of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, Jodi Pliszka, in her Weird Medical Maladies segment, expresses her concerns for a woman who can eat nothing but mint Tic Tacs. What does one do with an exotic pet that can’t be controlled or is not wanted anymore? Donald Shultz, of Nat Geo’s TV show, Animal Intervention, stops by and talks about several of his more unbelievable interventions. Cherrie Currie of the Runaways provides the musical egress with her rock version of the Sonny and Cher classic, I Got You Babe.

In an enlightening interview, Ripley Radio listeners learn this week how to repel the harmful curses of the fairy kingdom, when we talk with the insightful Clint Marsh about the new insightful book, “Goblinproofing One’s Chicken Coop.” Chad Lewis drops by and tells us that much of what we know about Ma Barker, the legendary gang leader of the 1930s is myth. Also on the November 5 episode we address the end of the world, as we know it. As December 21 approaches, which is being forecast as doomsday by many, author Laura Barcella joins us to discuss how pop culture has addressed 50 different apocalyptic visions. We also hear of a book written with disappearing ink and Mary Hayes from Cassadaga, Fla., the psychic capital of the world, explains how she channels and a little about the spirits on the other side who help her. When My Train Pulls In, by newcomer Gary Clark Jr., is our musical egress this week.

We’re back at the historic Hotel Cassadaga this week and learn more about the appeal and the draw of this spiritual little Florida community, known as the “Psychic Capital of the World.” We hear ghost stories and visit with famed psychic astrologer Ginny Stern. Diana Morn, the hotel’s owner, introduces us to Arthur, the community’s most famous spirit. All this on the October 29 Halloween edition of Ripley Radio, the official broadcast partner of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!Also on this week’s special show: We learn of a Werewolf Hunt in the UK in which anyone can partake; we talk with Ghost Hunter Kris Williams; we are invited to attend the largest gathering of sideshow performers in the world this weekend in Wilkes Barre, Pa.; and Chad Lewis reveals where a few wickedly cursed graveyards are located. The hokey, if not traditional Halloween song, by Bobby “Boris” Pickett, The Monster Mash, is our musical egress this week.

We broadcast the first of two special Halloween shows this year live from the “Psychic Capital of the World,” Cassadaga, Fla. From the historic Cassadaga Hotel, we learn of the history and the amazing draw that this small community has had since the late 19th century. Hotel owner Diana Morn joins us this week on Ripley Radio – the official broadcast partner of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, as does medium and psychic Torre.Also this week: Chad Lewis reports on the very odd and unusual burial traditions of Europe, and sideshow entertainer The Great Orbax, gives us a preview of what he and his partner are planning to do at the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver on October 24. It has something to do with the old wooden roller coaster, a 50 foot drop, and an on-board tattoo attempt. Don’t miss it. In keeping with the spirits of Cassadaga, our musical egress this week is Spirit in the Sky, by Norman Greenbaum.

At 9 years old, Kid KJ is the world’s youngest Monster Truck Driver, but he will lose that title soon – to his 6 year old brother. Ralf talks with Kid KJ this week on Ripley Radio, the official radio show of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Ripley favorite witch, Judika Illes tells us why Halloween is truly the Season of the Witch. Also this week: we learn that touring musician and author of Road Stories, Peter Aven, has ghosts in his barn recording studio; we hear about a man who was pronounced dead on the scene, got up and walked away; Angela informs us of some very weird restaurants; and we are told that a pair of Elvis Presley’s underwear sold at auction for $16,000! Rocker John Fogerty provides our Halloween musical egress with Wicked Old Witch.

Imagine how terrified you’d be if the rocks you picked up on the beach suddenly broke into fire a couple hours later – while they were still in your pocket! Believe it or Not!, you’ll hear that story on this week’s episode of Ripley Radio! Our newest contributor Chad Lewis reveals why Babe the Blue Ox is blue as he tells us the long-lived tale of Paul Bunyan. Also this week on Ripley Radio, the official radio show of Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, you’ll hear: about what the Ripley’s Haunted Adventures have in store for the Halloween season; a woman who makes $60 an hour as a professional snuggler; a man who has a serious medical malady that keeps him from gaining weight no matter what or how much he eats; that sometimes love can be re-ignited after divorce – 50 years later! The breakout folk group, the Lumineers, play their hit Ho Hey as this week’s musical egress.

This week on Ripley Radio, we talk with the creator of the toaster that can summon up a great image of Jesus each and every time on any slice of bread! Tom Thumb was not the smallest person to ever walk the earth, but he certainly was the most popular of the Lilliputians. Sideshow historian James Taylor and Ripley archivist Edward Meyer present two different segments on the mighty mite general and we are told that Ripley owns the suit in which Tom Thumb was married.

Robert Wadlow, the tallest man to ever walk the earth at 8 feet 11 inches tall, is featured this week in two different segments of the Ripley Radio Oddcast. The new book from Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, Download the Weird, is a revolutionary combination of printed book and downloadable videos and photos via OddScan, a new feature on the Believe It or Not! app. The publisher, Anne Marshall, tells us how it works and how reviewers are giving it very high marks.

Swami Panchadasi’s Clairvoyance and Occult Powers is a century-old book has served as the basis for modern self-help volumes through the years and contains amazing, unusual and unbelievable claims. Clint Marsh has dusted off the old book, written a new introduction to it and this week joins Ripley Radio. Philadelphia minister Kevin Benton has written “A Field Guide to Hell,” in which he claims to have gone to hell and back – literally. Intern Abby tells the tale of fish falling from the heavens in Honduras, Edward reveals facts about the world’s first and only underwater post office, we learn that the famous Chilean flag that was underground with the trapped miners is now in the Ripley archives

Believe It or Not! the American West had its share of outlaw women, many of whom were killers and rustlers – and some actually ended up on the short end of a long rope as a result. Author Michael Rutter has documented these bad girls in his Bedside Book of Bad Girls, and shares several amazing and shocking stories about a few of them. Steampunk is often defined as Victorian style with an industrial revolution steel feel to it combined with a touch of Jules Verne fantasy – all mixed together with a 21st century punk attitude. Sandra Martin, the founder of the Oklahoma Steampunk Expo is on hand to tell us all about this emerging genre and about her event, set for April 15-17 in Oklahoma City.  Also this week, Chris Epting reports about a plethora of fallen birds, all with the exact same wing injury, Tim plays Spot the Not! with facts culled from the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Baseball Oddities book, Edward examines the Steampunk exhibits in the Ripley archives, and we find out who the fittest man in the world

Forty years ago this fall, Walt Disney World opened near Orlando, Florida, and the state, city and the world has not been the same since. Disneyphile Chad Emerson has compiled a book of essays from Disney aficionados around the world to celebrate the four decades of the Mouse House and he shares with us some of the more unusual and amazing of the stories. Intern Abby tells us about a Knife Throwing Breast Surgeon, Sideshow impresario Ward Hall tells Tim that there is still validity in exhibiting freaks for entertainment, author Dan Schlossberg covers some of the strange things we’re likely to experience during the 2011 Major League Baseball Season, and Buck Wolf reveals what a lot of families are doing with the ashes of their recently departed. We hear further strange stories from Ripley’s Believe It or Not! book on Baseball Oddities, and while no one in the ensemble has received their invitation to the royal wedding yet, Edward tells us that fruitcakes can play an important part in British wedding customs

Jody Pliszka explains what the Chinese Year of the Rabbit means to all of us and what we should expect if we were born under one of the five signs of the rabbit. Well-known TV writer and author David Bickell has an unusual and somewhat kooky book and website called Creepiosity. He talks with us about what he finds really creepy in this already strange world, and sideshow veteran and entrepreneur Ward Hall explains why he feels that freaks are still a viable entertainment option on today’s carnival midway. We meet Father John, the Carny Priest who travels across America tending to his flock of itinerant show people, and a man who has run 365 full marathons in 365 days