Ripley Radio

A nun who gives messages and pigs who serve as ball boys are just a few of the weird and wonderful promotions that baseball club owner and promoter Mike Veeck has propagated over the years. The King of Baseball Promotion drops by Ripley Radio this week and tells us what unusual activities he has planned for his ballparks in 2012. An incredible tale of killing, deception and avoidance of the law is the story behind Fran Capo’s segment about the Boogeyman of Westfield. She wrote about him in her book Myths and Mysteries of New Jersey, and she recounts the amazingly grisly story to our listeners this week.

Bello Nock is perhaps the most recognizable circus performer ever. In creating his own performance niche as a comic daredevil, he shows as much skill as a daredevil as he does as a clown. His foot tall orange hair helps identify him in either role. Tim caught up with Nock for a quick interview prior to the Circus Sarasota presentation of Bello Mania. Duff Beer, the drink of choice of the fictional Homer Simpson, was a fictional drink itself until recently. It is now being brewed as a German Pilsner, but only available in the UK. Angela explains why it has taken so long for a brew named Duff to make it to the marketplace.

David Schuler likes good pizza, so he drives nearly 1,500 miles and across 16 states, from Mississippi to Massachusetts, to get the perfect pizza pie. And he stocks up once he gets there. Last time, he went home with 150 of those tomato-soaked ovals of greatness in his backseat. He visits with us this week on Ripley Radio – An On-Demand Oddcast and tells us about his favorite pizza restaurant. Susan Hyatt says the only difference between lucky and unlucky people is their thoughts. That said, the author of “Create Your Own Luck: 7 Steps to Get Your Lucky On” stops by this week and describes how we all can learn to be lucky!

This year contains the most Friday the 13th occurrences possible in one calendar year – three. And to make things even more daunting for those with Triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13) is that they are exactly 13 weeks apart! This week on the Ripley Radio Worldwide Oddcast, we examine the number and give everyone a little bit more to worry about, such as the fact that dying in a car crash is 64% greater on Friday the 13th! The New Jersey Devil, not the Hockey Team, is legendary in the folklore of New Jersey, and this week the author of Myths and Mysteries of New Jersey, Fran Capo, drops by and traces the history of this monster and provides some credibility to those who claim they have seen it.

It’s a new year and that means there are new Doomsdays predicted that we all must prepare for. Tim Ralston is our guest on Ripley Radio Oddcast this week. He’s a Prepper, one who prepares extensively for Doomsday by stocking up on food, water, batteries, and maybe most important – knowledge. As part of the team on the new National Geographic TV show Doomsdayers 2012, he shares with us what really can happen “out there” and how to prepare for it. Throughout ages, humans have been born with extra body parts, including arms, legs, fingers, and in some cases another human being! Marc Hartzman joins us this week to tell us about very rare example of a man born with an extra mouth – Otto Tolpefer. He was a featured attraction on sideshows in the 1880s in the New York area.

It’s President’s Week here at Ripley Radio – An On-Demand Oddcast, as we present two amazing and unusual stories you won’t find anywhere else. We hear that President Andrew Jackson may be the biggest party animal the White House has ever seen! Author and presidential historian Jacopo della Quercia visits and explains what Jackson’s big and boisterous Cheese Party was all about! We learn from Ian Randall Strock that the fertility of the US Commander in Chief tells us a great deal about how we should judge the success of a president. His research is expansive and he tells us everything you ever wanted to know about fertility, kids, grandkids and siblings in the White House. Check out Ian’s latest presidential book project!

Believe It or Not! David and Lauren Blair of Nashville, Tenn., have married each other 101 times! The couple joins Ripley Radio this week to discuss their love for each other and share some of the weirder vow exchanges the two have made: ranging from several at Hard Rock Cafes to the time Elvis married them in Las Vegas! Dan Meyer, president of the Sword Swallowers Assoc. International, stops by to talk about the upcoming World Sword Swallowers Day on Feb. 25, to be held at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! odditoriums around the world. He notes that this year’s event will be the largest ever, with more than 30 sword swallowers “dropping solid steel” at 10 different Ripley’s locations.