Ripley Radio

“Bats Sing, Mice Giggle” is the name of the new book by Dr. Karen Shanor, a researcher who reveals some amazing and surprising facts about the way animals communicate. UFO Phil, perhaps one of the most unusual and fun guests ever on Ripley Radio unveils his plan to build a huge pyramid on the top of Pike’s Peak in Colorado so the aliens will have a place to land. He also sings for us and very secretively lists ways for us to tell the good aliens from the bad. Intern Abby provides a tale of a dog being elected as the mayor of a small Kentucky town; we hear about parrots that are trained to prevent crime; and we learn that Ripley’s has an amazing collection of weird, strange (and stuffed) animals in its vast archives.

Gail Rubin’s slightly irreverent but quite practical look at death and funerals led her to be a part of this year’s Frozen Dead Guy Festival where she unveiled her new game, the NewlyDead Game. This week she talks with us about how to plan for your own funeral in a fun way. We also talk about the Catholic Church and witches, the Doomsday Seed Bank in Norway, Fantasy Coffins, and more

There are still mysteries and controversy surrounding what many feel is the day the music died, Feb.3, 1959, when Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Richie Valens died in a plane crash. This week on the official radio station for Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, we talk with Gary Moore, author of the book Hey Buddy and he unveils what has not been told to us through the years. Also this week, we get to hear about an Elvis sighting, our archivist Edward Meyer tells us about a lock of Elvis’ hair we have in our collection, and Tim talks with CBS News coorespondent Bill Geist

SHOW 113 Two new models of flying cars have been put on the market, a Michigan Pizza Shop turned into a Classical Italian Art Museum is doing well, and we take a look at Presidential Pets that have lived in the U.S. White House through the years Also this week we learn: How the US Government is preparing for a Zombie Apocalypse and what YOU can do to prepare; About the 10 foot by 10 foot jelly bean portraits just purchased by Ripley’s Believe It or Not!; That only 10 companies are responsible for most of the products you buy; and our musical egress is Surfin’ Safari, the 1962 summertime hit by the Beach Boys.

An Amphicar Festival in Ohio, a look back at Wild West Shows, cows disrupting a college beer party, and disgusting food facts about our everyday food choices. Also this week, you’ll hear about: hybrid designer animals; a horse-carriage hijacking where the horse was the hero; an update on the Bearded Lady’s reunion with her long-lost son; and for our musical egress we go back to 1983 with Modern English and their hit, I Melt With You.

Is it legal to hunt for Big Foot in Texas? New information on the famous Rubber Skin Girl, a look at the history of Wax Museums and a chat with Erin Ryder, star of the new TV series Chasing UFOs. Also this week, you’ll hear about: the dad who promised a year’s supply of beer to whomever would give his son a job; a new radio station focused on Doomsday; new exhibits at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditoriums worldwide called Ghost in the Machine; and important information needed to survive the current planetary condition – the Mercury Retrograde!

A Summer Sideshow, a Bacon Coffin, a Space and Bicycle Museum, a primer on old time Medicine Shows and a psychic pig! The traditional sideshow acts are back at Quassy Amusement Park this July 9-22 as the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Summer Sideshow is presented daily at the Middlebury, Conn. family funpark. The amazing Todd Robbins will head up the acts in this historic look back at the golden years of the sideshow. It’s a free show at the free-admission park and you’ll hear all about it this week on Ripley Radio. One of the most eclectic museums you’ll ever find is the Deke Slayton Memorial Space and Bicycle Museum in Sparta, Wisconsin. From sprockets to rockets, this great little exposition features the evolution of transportation while honoring its home-town hero, one of America’s first astronauts. We talk with the museum’s Alli Karrell and she tells us about the museum and a couple fun events she will be holding this month.

It truly is a scary thought. Believe It or Not!, the woman who became notoriously known as the Tanning Mom is now an action figure! A toy and doll company in Connecticut is now selling the figure for $29.95. And what’s more, the company president tells Ralf, that his company can customize an action figure that looks like you! Tune in to this week’s Ripley Radio Oddcast for this truly bizarre story. Power to the People! is more than an anthem. Floor tiles are being installed In London, in time for the Olympics that can generate electricity when people step on them! Angela reports on this unbelievable new and efficient way to create energy!

The triathlon, where contestants swim, bike and run for various lengths are quite common. What’s uncommon is to have an athlete juggle balls during all three events. Believe It or Not!, that’s what Joe Salter did and Ralf caught up with him afterward for a fun chat. P.T. Barnum made the Dime Museum of the late 1800s a popular attraction to visit for the entire family. These storefront “museums” displayed wild and weird specimens, plus bizarre and strange human acts. As they were fading in popularity in the early 1930s, Robert Ripley patterned his very first Odditorium after these early expositions and took the presentation up several notches. Sideshow historian James Taylor provides the fascinating evolution of the genre in which Ripley still excels today!

Episode 107 - Captain Steamers, a pirate-themed oyster bar in Florida was being robbed when an employee grabbed the closest weapon he could find – a piece of the theming decoration – and foiled the bad guy’s efforts. What did he use? Through the decades of space travel, US Astronauts have not only claimed to see odd things flying by outside their space capsule, but have brought back photographic proof of those objects. NASA immediately “lost” the data in their bureaucracy and instructed the astronauts that they hadn’t seen a thing. Ripley Radio’s own UFO and Paranormal investigator, Lee Speigel, reports on this cover-up and hints at what’s really happening out there.

Imagine every time you hear a specific song, whether in the car, at home or on the beach, you immediately go into a seizure. It’s a problem suffered by those afflicted with a medical malady commonly known as Music Induced Syndrome. It’s rare and it’s UNBELIEVABLE! Jodi Pliszka stops by and tells us all about it. There are people who have recently seen live dinosaurs in Africa! Lee Speigel tells us a fascinating story about an upcoming expedition that will trek into the deep and dark interior areas of the country to see if they also can spot and of course, chronicle the big guys.

Where is the worst place for a cow to show up after escaping from its farm? This week on Ripley Radio Oddcast, we discover the answer to that question. It’s a fun, feel-good animal story that gives an all-new meaning to the food chain, AND, it’s a perfect Ripley story because it is totally UNBELIEVABLE! Ripley’s paranormal and UFO correspondent, Lee Speigel, joins us and proves that what goes on in Las Vegas never really stays there! On a recent trip during dinner, he missed a major UFO sighting over the city and didn’t hear about it for two weeks. When he did, he checked the videos he had shot that evening and discovered an amazing array of various orbs flying over his hotel. He shares that experience with us.

Believe It or Not, the rock group Mini-Kiss, a group of small guys in full Kiss Rock and Roll makeup, really does exist as a touring band AND they are heading to Ripley’s Believe It or Not! St. Augustine for a Memorial Day Weekend show! This week, Mini-Gene Simmons visits the Ripley Oddcast and explains their show and their excitement in working with the “real” Kiss in a Super Bowl Pepsi commercial a few years back. When it comes to putting ingredients on pizza, just about everything has been tried over the years, so what does a pizza chain do now to create excitement and new tastes for their product? The answer is simple – they turn to the crust, not the toppings. Angela checks in this week with a report on what crusty concoctions are appearing on pizzas world-wide – including Pizza Hut’s new hot dog stuffed pizza.

This week, we interview the owner, but we don’t necessarily endorse his concept, of a restaurant in Las Vegas that has a huge sign at the front door warning: “Caution, This establishment is bad for your health.” There have been several real heart attacks at The Heart Attack Grill, whose slogan reads “High Calorie, High Fun, Good Tasting Food.” Samples from the menu include Flat Line Fries and the Triple By-Pass Burger. Imagine living far from a Mexican food restaurant and you yearn for a taco. What do you do? You get online, order a taco and before long, a flying robotic drone lands on your front lawn, you go out and unload your taco and the drone takes off to conduct yet another palate saving mission. The Taco-Copter is a reality in San Francisco, and there is talk of a Lobster-Copter in New England. But wait – the Federal Aviation Administration has put a temporary kibosh on the idea. Angela gives us the latest details on this innovative food delivery system.

Less than 200 people have gone below the sea to visit the Titanic in the 100 years since it sank. Fran Capo, a regular Ripley Radio Oddcast contributor is one of them. This week, she relates how she got to be one of the lucky ones, the world record she set while submerged more than two miles below the surface, and she candidly tells us what her greatest fear during the trip was. You’ll be surprised as to what it was! May is the start of the summer in most regions of the Northern Hemisphere and that means the start of a long string of unusual and bizarre fairs, festivals and events. If weird is in your travel plans for 2012, make sure you listen as our ensemble talks about everything from the Garlic Festival and the Monkey Buffett Festival to the Mike the Headless Chicken Festival and the Redneck Games. We also cover the Twins Festival and as many of the food throwing festivals we could find!

Lee Speigel, a regular contributor to Ripley Radio – An On-Demand Oddcast and a Huffington Post writer, not only gave a popular presentation to the International UFO Congress last month, but he was also awarded the UFO Researcher of the Year. This week, he talks about the award and about the importance of the UFO Congress. Swami Yomahmi, the self-proclaimed “Original Sideshow Geek,” has one of the most original sideshow acts in the business today – combining traditional acts with a heavy dose of nerdiness and humor! He drops by this week and discusses his act, why he does what he does, and maybe most importantly, what his mother thinks of his line of work!

This week marks the 100th episode of Ripley Radio – An On-Demand Oddcast and during the show we hear from Ripley’s President Jim Pattison Jr. on how the show is helping keep Robert Ripley’s legacy alive and current, and we also hear from many of our guests who we featured during the first 100 shows! We talk with Ray Johnson, the 46-year mayor of Campo, Colo., who is thought to be the most heavily tattooed mayor in the US. Ralf questions him on how his constituency feels about all the ink. You’ll be surprised at his response.

Believe It or Not! creator Robert Ripley has been inducted into the Sideshow Hall of Fame, at Coney Island USA! Ninety-four years after he drew his first Believe It or Not! cartoon and 79 years after he opened his first Odditorium at the Chicago World’s Fair, Ripley officially joins the esteemed lineup of history’s greatest showmen! Tim was there and he reports on how it all went down! An exhibit featuring the secretive Area 51 has just opened at the National Atomic Testing Museum in Las Vegas. Ripley’s UFO expert Lee Speigel tells us the the irony that the museum, part of the federally funded Smithsonian Museum group, would feature something that the Federal Government itself has claimed doesn’t exist, wasn’t lost on him. Otherwise, it’s a well done, expansive and educational exhibit, he notes.

Ripley Radio’s tribute to Easter this week features Ripley-style advice on how one should eat a chocolate bunny and author Anne Perciado Rich visits to explain how bunnies and colored eggs became a part of the most important holiday in the Christian religion. Have you ever been in a noisy restaurant or a loud rock concert and have been unable to hear your cell phone or even feel it vibrating? Now, our friends at Nokia are creating the technology that will cause a special tattoo on your body to vibrate when a call or email comes in.

Since its beginning, the Girl to Gorilla illusion has been a hit on circus and carnival midways around the world. Using mirrors, it appears the beautiful girl is slowly turning into a big hairy ape and as she does, the mesmerized crowds stood there silently until something happens that sends them all screaming out of the tent! Sideshow historian James Taylor visits Ripley Radio this week and tells us the reason behind that mass exodus at practically every show. As the tax deadlines approach in the US, we learn that many of the rich and famous owe incredible amounts of back taxes to the US Government. You’ll be amazed to find out what film star still owes nearly $150 million in back taxes!