8 Fascinating Insights About Ripley's Believe It or Not!

For over 100 years, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! has been celebrated as the ultimate source of astonishing facts, incredible figures, and unbelievable individuals. Founded by cartoonist Robert Ripley in 1918, the franchise began as a newspaper comic strip and expanded into various media formats. It gained fame for showcasing extraordinary tales of global oddities that were meticulously verified. At its peak, Ripley’s strip reached 80 million readers through 360 newspapers worldwide. Today, the brand encompasses TV shows, museums, books, and even aquariums.

In honor of the new Ripley’s Believe It or Not! TV series, hosted by Bruce Campbell and airing Sundays at 9 p.m. on the Travel Channel, we’ve compiled some of the most captivating trivia about the original 20th-century pioneers of fascinating facts.

1. The original title of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! was Champs and Chumps.

From his early days in Santa Rosa, California, Robert Ripley, born in 1890, harbored a passion for art. He showcased his talent by contributing cartoons to his school newspaper and yearbook, eventually selling his first professional piece to Life magazine in 1908. Relocating to San Francisco the next year, he became a sports cartoonist for local newspapers. Encouraged by writers like Jack London (Call of the Wild), Ripley moved to New York, joining the New York Globe, where his sports cartoons gained widespread acclaim through syndication.

On a quiet sports news day, Ripley sketched an illustration highlighting extraordinary human achievements, such as a man holding his breath for over six minutes, titling it Champs and Chumps. He revisited the concept in 1919 and again in 1920, renaming it Believe It or Not. The Globe sent him to cover the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp and on global travels, inspiring his strip Ripley’s Rambles ‘Round the World. By 1926, while at the New York Evening Post, he revived the strip, which became a lasting hit. Readers were captivated by Ripley’s bizarre and obscure facts, turning both the strip and its creator into international phenomena.

2. The majority of Robert Ripley’s fascinating facts were unearthed by a single researcher in New York.

Despite Ripley’s fame as a world traveler, journeying to places like Tripoli, India, and Africa, many of the facts featured in Ripley’s Believe It or Not! were uncovered not during his travels but by a single individual meticulously researching in the New York Public Library. In 1923, Ripley encountered Norbert Pearlroth while seeking someone proficient in foreign languages. Pearlroth, fluent in 14 languages, dedicated over seven days a week to scouring the library for intriguing details Ripley could use in his strip or for fact-finding missions. His dedication was so intense that library staff often had to remind him to leave at closing time. Pearlroth served as Ripley’s sole researcher for an incredible 52 years, retiring in 1975. He passed away in 1983 at the age of 89.

3. Ripley revealed that "The Star-Spangled Banner" was never officially the national anthem.

With a keen eye for detail, Ripley uncovered in 1929 that "The Star-Spangled Banner" had never been formally designated as the national anthem. This revelation sparked public outcry, leading to 5 million people signing a petition sent to Congress. The bill was eventually passed and signed into law by President Herbert Hoover in 1931, officially recognizing the song.

4. Ripley rose to become one of the most accomplished cartoonists of his time.

The media quickly recognized the widespread popularity of Ripley’s work. After releasing a book in 1929 featuring both new and classic strips, Ripley was flooded with opportunities. William Randolph Hearst, a prominent newspaper magnate, brought him on board at King Features Syndicate with a salary of $1200 plus profit-sharing, totaling over $100,000 annually. His earnings soared with radio shows, books, and lectures, surpassing $500,000 a year during the 1930s, even amid the Great Depression. A 1936 newspaper poll revealed that Ripley was more beloved by Americans than actor James Cagney, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, or aviator Charles Lindbergh.

5. Ripley was known for his eccentric personality.

True to his peculiar persona, Ripley was an enigma himself. While preparing a 1940 profile of Ripley for The New Yorker, writer Geoffrey T. Hellman noted several oddities in his notebook. These included Ripley’s habit of working in just a bathrobe, wearing his deceased mother’s wedding ring, owning a fish that swam backward, a Tibetan shrunken head, and even a whale penis. He couldn’t drive and appeared to gather women from across the globe to live with him in what could be likened to a harem. Ripley’s housekeeper once remarked that among all the oddities in his Mamaroneck, New York mansion, “The most unusual thing in the house is Mr. Ripley.”

6. Charles Schulz, creator of Peanuts, had his first published work in Ripley’s strip.

Before Charles Schulz gained fame for his Peanuts comic strip, he debuted in Ripley’s Believe It or Not! In 1937, at just 15 years old, Schulz submitted a drawing of his dog, Spike, who allegedly ate bizarre items like pins and tacks. The strip credited him as “Sparky,” his nickname. Spike bore a striking resemblance to Snoopy, the beloved pet from Schulz’s later Peanuts series.

7. Numerous Ripley’s Odditoriums are open for visitors around the world.

In 1933, Ripley showcased some of his most astonishing artifacts at the Century of Progress World’s Fair in Chicago. The exhibit featured human oddities, such as a man who could blow smoke from his eyes and another who could rotate his head 180 degrees. While the fair was temporary, a permanent Odditorium opened in New York in 1939. Over time, additional locations were established in San Francisco, Ontario, and Baltimore. Today, there are more than 30 Ripley’s Odditoriums across 10 countries.

8. Ripley’s death carried a touch of irony.

The Ripley’s brand is widely known through its television series, featuring hosts like Jack Palance, Dean Cain, and currently Bruce Campbell. However, Ripley himself was the original host when the show premiered in 1949. During the taping of his 13th episode, Ripley collapsed at his desk, succumbing to what appeared to be a heart attack. Ironically, the episode’s theme was the history of the military funeral anthem “Taps.” Believe it or not.