Ripley's Believe It or Not! Encyclopedia of the Bizarre: Amazing, Strange, Inexplicable, Weird and All True! (Ripleys Believe It Or Not) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Editors of Ripley's Believe It or Not (Author) "Ripley's is known for celebrating astonishing capabilities, from the backward walkers and three-legged racers of the very first Believe It or Not! cartoon in 1918,..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, San Francisco, North Carolina (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Black Dog & Leventhal’s bestselling Encyclopedia of the Bizarre is now available in a handier, more reasonably priced edition that retains every word and image of the original. From stupefying stunts to wacky world’s records, all of Ripley’s riveting findings are here, in an easy-to-browse, impossible-to-put-down color volume.

Where else could you learn that:

• It’s estimated that 10,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000 snowflakes have fallen to the Earth since the Earth was formed!

• Queen Isabeau of Bavaria used a mixture of boar’s brains, crocodile glands, and wolf blood as skin lotion!

• Anna Bread married John Butter in Leeds, England, April 22, 1926!

• Phil Turco of Madison, Wisconsin, swallowed 339 goldfish in two hours!

Bizarre and amazing categories include Accidents and Disasters, Animals and Insects, Archaeology, Feats and Stunts, Prophecies, Records, the Unexplained, and more. It’s fascinating fun for the whole family.

Book Description

This colorful, magical and mind-expanding volume is an encyclopedia that only the people at Ripley's Believe It or Not! could dream up. Every page is brimming with information and eye-popping artwork, covering the extremes of every subject imaginable. Coincidences, explorers, human anatomy, laws, medicine, science, sports, survival, villains, war, weather--these are just a few of the topics explored in this unique volume. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers; illustrated edition edition (October 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579124828
• ISBN-13: 978-1579124823
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 6.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #111,314 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Middle Schoolers WILL READ!!, May 21, 2003

By	"teacherandmom" (LaGrange, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ripley's Believe It or Not! Encyclopedia of the Bizarre (Hardcover)

My fourth grader received this book as a gift...you can imagine the initial disappointment in receiving a book and not a gadget. He has not put the book down! He keeps it on his bed. When friends come to visit they actually read! It has provided him with many interesting details and amazing facts to share with his classmates and friends. These reports are truly conversation starters. Presented with colorful photos and drawings and easy to browse paragraphs, this book is easy to pick up and enjoy for a few minutes before school or for an hour of reading. The reading level is appropriate for grades 4-6. Third graders could easily enjoy the book as well. This would be a perfect coffee table book if your child had a coffee table!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oddities and eccentricities delight, December 24, 2005

By	B. Emory (Wilmington NC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Ripley's Believe It or Not! Encyclopedia of the Bizarre (Hardcover)

Aaaah I love a good book showcasing the bizarre. This is an incredible book that includes interesting facts and photographs to boot, of amazing individuls, creatures, plants, and events. There is over 5,000 random selections of the most curious things. Some examples include a cow with 8 legs, a man with palm fronds in his skull, a cat born with fur that spells out cat, a dog that wears dentures, man who can flip up the stairs, a man who made an eccentric garden out of curving and knotting tree boughs, an eggplant whose seeds that spelled out God, the man who is turning himself into a lizard, men who can pick up cars, and women who can skate on their toes. Its like a Guiness Book of Records but these facts would not be exactly world famous but just unusual. I love this book and my friend bought this for her 11 year old who has read every page. Its filled with pictures and facts so its a huge collection. It would be great for a coffee table or anyone who embraces eccentricities or has a healthy curiosity.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outlines over 6,000 real oddities, March 5, 2005

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ripley's Believe It or Not! Encyclopedia of the Bizarre: Amazing, Strange, Inexplicable, Weird and ALL TRUE! (Hardcover)

You can't get a better trivia collection together than a "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" collection, and for fans of oddities and the bizarre. With the assistance of the "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" editorial staff, Julie Mooney's Ripley's Believe It or Not! Encyclopedia Of The Bizarre: Amazing, Strange, Inexplicable, Weird And All True! is one of the best. Enhanced with a profusion of color drawings, it outlines over 6,000 real oddities, from a re-creation of DaVinci's Mona Lisa from a piece of burnt toast to a six-year-old's invention of a battery-powered dog collar that glows in the dark. Packed from cover to cover with real-life oddities, Encyclopedia Of The Bizarre is a recommended pick for any public library holding.