Following hot on the heels of last year's best-selling edition, Ripley's Believe It or Not! 2012 offers an entirely new compendium of bizarre facts and features in a stunning new design, including a section on the wacky and amazing feats of the Olympic games past and present, and an 8-page pull-out featuring Ripley's first ever odditorium, which opened in 1933. For the legions of dedicated Ripley's fans, and anyone else on the planet who loves unbelievable facts and jaw-dropping images, the latest annual in the bestselling series is a feast of delights. Meet the man who chews molten lead, the cat that can predict death, the vending machine that dispenses live crabs and the artist who paints portraits with burger grease. Intriguing interviews with some of the astounding individuals who feature in the book spotlight their achievements and reveal their motivations, and informative 'Ripley's Research' boxes give the scientific explanation behind some of the most incredible tales, such as how people have turned their fingers into magnets.

An illustrated collection of oddities that are sure to shock the reader.

The newest title in the Ripley's Annual series is a compendium of new and bizarre stories, pictures and interviews all of which are packaged nicely within a vibrant red foil and lenticular cover. For the legions of dedicated Ripley’s fans, and anyone else on the planet who loves unbelievable facts and jaw-dropping images, the latest annual in our bestselling series is a feast of delights. Be amazed at a portrait made from 200,000 dead ants, the man who traversed the English Channel by holding onto a bunch of balloons, and the single human hair featuring paintings of all 42 American presidents. A compendium of incredible and bizarre facts, stories, interviews and features, presented in a stunning new design, this book also drives readers to Ripley’s fully interactive website. There are intriguing interviews with some of the astounding individuals who are featured in the book that spotlight their achievements and reveal more about what motivates them. A dramatic eight-page gatefold sections presents Ripley’s first ever odditorium, which showcased sideshow performers and was built for the World’s Trade Fair in 1933. This features a selection of choice memorabilia including Robert Ripley’s original annotated list of performers. Informative “Ripley’s Research” boxes give the scientific explanation behind some of the most incredible tales in the book, such as how people have turned their fingers into magnets. A section on the Olympic games, past and present, highlights the wacky as well as the amazing feats that have taken place at the height of sporting achievement. Additional black and white Ripley archive photographs feature throughout the book, and miscellaneous lists are also scattered throughout. This year specially commissioned photographic features will also appear in the book.

Ripley fans the world over will love this utterly crazy book! Packed full of fascinating facts and strange tales about incredibly unbelievable but totally true stories, this new book celebrates the remarkable and the bizarre in our world today.

Collects unusual and amazing stories about animals, including the fastest fish in the ocean, an elephant that paints pictures, and the smallest bat in the world.

"This fascinating facsimile diary offers a first-hand account of Robert Ripley's travels to far-flung exotic corners of the globe in search of the weird and the wonderful during the 1930s. Inside, Ripley's own drawings, cartoons, and memorabilia evoke the strange and bizarre world that unfolded before his eyes ..."--P. [4] of cover.

One for the grown-ups, this quirky new Ripley's book is filled with bizarre and hilarious 'Believe It or Not!' stories, trivia and lists - perfect for any fan of the unusual, and the ideal Father's Day gift. Some of the utterly stupefying stories within include: - The craziest true CIA plots, including the cat secret agent and the pigeon guided missile - A gambler who broke Monte Carlo - The secret US nuclear launch codes that were reportedly set at '00000000' for 16 years during the Cold War. - A man who successfully removed his own appendix while on an Antarctic expedition