Enter If You Dare!
Ripley’s Believe It Or Not has always fascinated me. It puts the bizarre out there and contradicts the very things Mom told us not to do. In the new Ripley’s Believe It Or Not: Enter If You Dare! book, you’ll find bizarre food manifestations from around the world!
When I was in my early 20s my mom gave me a talk on the downfalls of drinking soda. I remember that talk almost word for word about how soda was sludge. When she was done she said, “How do you feel now?” and I responded with, “I could really use a Coke!” Thankfully, I was not Jason Morgan, a 32-year-old truck driver from Neath, South Wales, for years he drank more than 20 pints of Coca-Cola every day – the equivalent of 26 cans! P.184 My mother is skilled, but I don’t think she has a talk to match Morgan!
Right after soda, I love coffee. Are you seeing my pattern here? Mom likes coffee too, in moderation of course, and I’m sure if Gennaro Pelliccia, an Italian coffee taster, was her child she’d beam with pride. He has had his tongue insured for nearly $14 million. His job is to test every batch of raw beans before they leave the firm’s roaster, and he is banned from eating curry within two days of tasting sessions in case the spices dull his sensitivity. P. 188.
Lansing Community College, Michigan, created a slab of chocolate fudge that weighed 5,500 lb. The slab was made from 2,800 lb of chocolate, 705 lb of butter, and 305 gals of condensed milk. P. 188. The book does not continue the story stating anyone ate the slab of chocolate fudge–I might be up for the challenge!
Some of the stories in Ripley’s Believe It Or Not: Enter If You Dare! don’t impress me immediately. Take for instance Ashrita Furman of New York City he ate 40 M&Ms in a minute. Seriously, I can put more M&Ms in my hand than that and once I open my mouth and shove them in, there’s no stopping me. Then I read he did this – with chopsticks. P. 239 I’d still be trying to pick up ONE!
There is a lot more to the book than food. My four-year-old is fascinated by the high-resolution photos. He sits on the steps and turns the pages and I hear him say, “This is some pretty freaky stuff, Mom.” I have to check it out and we become emerged in the world of unusual, unbelievable, and amazing!
Li’l Man thinks Etta Lake has it made as “the girl with elastic skin”. She traveled with King-Franklin Circus in 1889 with her ability to pull skin an amazing six inches from her cheek! P. 110
I’m not sure how I’d react if my kiddo came home with a tattoo, however, if my kiddo had the talent of Dan Hazelton from Milwaukee, Wisconsin I don’t think I’d have qualms about him inking someone up. Check out his tattoo called “Tear Out” P.242 where you can see the rewards of ten hours of labor over three sessions. The tattoo looks like something out of a superhero comic book!
The best part of this book was when my twenty-year-old got sucked in by his four-year-old brother’s “This is freaky” and had to check it out. The twenty-year-old is terrified of barnacles. Don’t ask me why–we don’t even live near a pier or an ocean. P.120 has a story about The Coral Men. Growths on men that over the years harden and resemble barnacles. I’m pretty sure my oldest had nightmares that night about it–I’m still pretty freaked out myself.
Ripley’s Believe It Or Not: Enter if You Dare! does not disappoint. It’s the bizarre, amazing, and true stories chronicled to create a beautiful book that entertains and will have you exclaiming, “No! I don’t believe it!”
This 256-page book is beautiful and fun and can be purchased through Amazon.com just in time for Halloween. It has a retail value of $28.95, but today I saw it listed on Amazon for $19.11
The press release:
Enter If You Dare also includes a dramatic double gatefold that throws light on the shady world of vampires, and two single gatefolds—a tribute to the Coney Island sideshows, and a lifesize portrait of tiny teenager Jyoti Amge who stands just 231/2 inches tall. With something strange to entertain and shock every member of the family, Enter If You Dare is sure to continue the massive success of the expanding Ripley’s book brand.
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