KEYNOTES The Ripley’s Believe It or Not! cartoon is the longest running cartoon strip in the world. It has been published since 1918, when Robert Ripley himself was the cartoonist. By 1933, the Ripley's Believe It or Not! Cartoon was read daily by millions of people in 17 languages across 300 publications around the world. Selections from this rich treasure trove of unbelievable stories make up our compilation of cartoon ebooks, each guaranteed to astound, amuse and entertain.

Presents an illustrated collection of unusual phenomena and oddities, grouped into such categories as curious creations, incredible animals, fantastic feats, and unusual tales.

One of the most successful entertainment figures of his time, Robert Ripley’s life is the stuff of a classic American fairy tale. Bucktoothed and hampered by shyness, Ripley turned his sense of being an outsider into an appreciation of the weird and wonderful. He sold his first cartoon to LIFE magazine at eighteen, but it was his wildly popular ‘Believe It or Not!’ radio shows that won him international fame, and spurred him on to search the globe’s farthest corners for bizarre facts, human curiosities and shocking phenomena. Ripley delighted in making preposterous declarations that somehow turned out to be true – such as that Charles Lindburgh was only the sixty-seventh man to fly across the Atlantic or that ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ was not the USA’s national anthem. And he demanded respect for those who were labelled ‘eccentrics’ or ‘freaks’ – whether it be E. L. Blystone, who wrote 2,871 alphabet letters on a grain of rice, or the man who could swallow his own nose. By the 1930s, Ripley possessed a wide fortune, a private yacht and a huge mansion stocked with such oddities as shrunken heads and medieval torture devices. His pioneering firsts in print, radio and television tapped into something deep in the American consciousness – a taste for the titillating and exotic, and a fascination with the fastest, biggest, wackiest and weirdest – and ensured a worldwide legacy that continues today. This compelling biography portrays a man who was dedicated to exalting the strange and unusual – but who may have been the most amazing oddity of all.

Join the RBI—a group of teen agents with special gifts—on a series of action-packed adventures as they travel the world! A plane crash ten years ago and reports of a strange wolf boy lead the RBI to the wilds of western China and to a girl who thinks that the creature might be her long-lost brother. But the mountains and surrounding jungle are full of dangers. Can the team brave hungry tigers, snarling wolves and treacherous ravines to uncover the truth? A dangerous mission for the RBI.

An encyclopedia of oddities features unexpected and unimaginable people, places, and creatures from around the world.

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.

The Ripley’s Believe It or Not! cartoon is the longest running cartoon strip in the world. It has been published since 1918, when Robert Ripley himself was the cartoonist. By 1933, the Ripley's Believe It or Not! Cartoon was read daily by millions of people in 17 languages across 300 publications around the world. Selections from this rich treasure trove of unbelievable stories make up our compilation of cartoon ebooks, each guaranteed to astound, amuse and entertain.