Headlines prove truth is stranger than fiction

ORLANDO, Fla. (Dec. 27, 2010) – Ripley’s Believe It or Not! searches the globe for the ultimate in unusual oddities, strange stories and terrific true tales. After reading and reviewing hundreds of stories from headlines around the world in 2010, the experts and weird-ologists at Ripley’s are releasing their Top 10 Strange Stories of 2010.  They range from the bizarre to the unbelievable – but all are true!

• Bearded Woman Finds Son:  Vivian Wheeler was born with hypertrichosis (werewolf syndrome) and as a hermaphrodite (both male and female reproductive organs) and was told she couldn’t have children. But at 29, she gave birth to a boy, who was promptly taken away from her by her boyfriend and put up for adoption. In 2010, after years of searching, Richard Lorenc found his mother and they were re-united. Link

• Ripley the Dog: The living, breathing big pile of fur found in a ditch in Houma, La., turned out to be a one-year-old poodle. As he was being shaved, the vet decided to name the pooch Ripley, because “Believe It or Not!, there is a dog under here.” The before and after photos garnered world-wide attention and less than 6 weeks after being discovered, Ripley was well enough to be adopted. Believe It or Not!  Link

• Longest High School Football Game Ever: A high-school football game in Texas turned into an endurance battle as Jacksonville beat Nacogdoches in 12 overtimes, 84-81, breaking the old record of nine extra frames. The game ended at 12:54 a.m., after the young boys battled for more than five hours.  Link

• Spray-on Clothes: Forget about all the medical breakthroughs in 2010, for surely it will become known as the year that scientists developed an instant, sprayable, non-woven fabric that can be sprayed onto a nude body to form clothes that not only cover, but can be taken off, washed, and worn again.  Link

• Deep Fried Beer: In a competition at the Texas State Fair, Mark Zable unveiled Fried Beer. In a patented process, he puts beer into a doughy pocket and deep fries it. The quick fry hardens the crust, but the beer remains a fully potent brew. Those who sampled it were carded! Link

• Dead Body in a Car for 10 Months: Shortly after a homeless woman in California was befriended by a motorist, she died unexpectedly. The driver, not knowing what to do with the body, drove it around for 10 months, next to a box of baking soda to help negate the smell. The corpse was discovered by police who smelled the stench, looked in the car and saw a leg poking out from under a pile of clothes. Link

• Man Shot in Head Finds out 5 Years Later: A man living in Germany walked around and functioned normally for five years without noticing he had been shot in the head.  The .22 caliber bullet was found when the man went to the doctor to have what he thought was a cyst removed.  All he could remember was that it probably happened in 2005 at a New Year’s Eve Party and that he was “very drunk.” Link

• Dog Chews off Man’s Toe: DETROITA 48-year-old Michigan man credited his dog Kiko with saving his life by chewing off his diseased big toe as he lay passed out in a drunken daze. The terrier gnawed off his right big toe which turned out to be badly infected due to Type 2 Diabetes. The dog ate off the diseased tissue and left the rest untouched. Link

• Woman Tries to be the Fattest: A 42-year old, mother of two wants to become the world’s heaviest living woman. Donna Simpson currently weighs more than 600 pounds and her desire is to top 1,000 pounds. She works as a model on a website called supersizedbombshells.com, where the curious pay to watch videos of her eating or walking. She spends nearly $750 per month in groceries for herself and admits that she is as hungry for attention as she is for the junk food she eats every day. Link

• Cat Predicts Death: Oscar the cat lives at a nursing and rehabilitation center in Providence, R.I. He roams the halls, is generally unsociable, and spends little time with anyone who has more than a few hours to live. He rarely errs in his predictions and this year extended his predicting streak to 50. He senses death and cuddles with the elderly patients until they pass.  Link

Media contact:

Tim O’Brien
VP Communications
Ripley Entertainment Inc.
Obrien@ripleys.com
Office- 615-646-7465
Cell – 615-496-5949

About Ripley Entertainment; Ripley Entertainment Inc. (www.ripleys.com), keepers of the venerable Ripley’s Believe It or Not! brand, is a global leader in location-based entertainment, entertaining more than 13 million annually at its 80-plus attractions in 11 countries.  In addition to its 32 Believe It or Not! Odditoriums, the Orlando, Florida-based company has publishing, licensing and broadcast divisions, best-selling books and the popular syndicated cartoon strip, Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, that still runs daily in 42 countries. Ripley Entertainment is a Jim Pattison Company, the third-largest privately held company in Canada.

Posted by Wellons Communications, an Orlando public relations firm.