It’s kind of hard to describe who Robert Ripley was. Basically, he was a cartoonist that traveled the world attempting to document the unusual. If you ever are in Buena Park, you can stop by the Believe It Or Not Museum and take a look at what he spent his life pursuing.
Located on Beach Boulevard, the museum is almost directly across from Knott’s Berry Farm.
We have driven past this place hundreds of times, dismissing it as some cheesy tourist trap. That’s Robert Ripley seated on the airplane fuselage.
You see this? This is a genuine Papua New Guinea penis sheath. This is what convinced me that this wasn’t going to be the usual museum.
The first part of the museum is devoted to bric-a-brac that an early twentieth century explorer would collect in Africa and “the Orient”, such as a hippo skull.
A quick word before you proceed. This place is not pc. If you want pc, go jump in the lake. The old clips use words like “orient”. Also, a portion of the display is devoted to displaying odd humans.
That’s right, odd humans like this guy who had four pupils. This is not done in the name of science like The Learning Channel pretends to do. It’s done because people enjoy looking at the unusual. Just remember the lessons learned from Todd Browning’s Freaks and you’ll be all right.
There are also a number of other unusual items made by people, such as this picture made from dryer lint.
Or this copy of “The Last Supper” made completely out of toast.
Ripley’s is a great place to go on a lazy afternoon. As you go through, make sure to count the number of items made out of human hair.