10 October 2016
For years, South Africans sat in the comfort of their homes watching Ripley's Believe It or Not! on the small screen. Now those stories have come to life at the Ripley's Believe It or Not! summer attraction in Cape Town.
The collection of weird and wonderful oddities – from a shrunken human head to the skeleton of a komodo dragon, and a piece of Mars – is on show at the V&A Waterfront's Clock Tower.
Learn about Robert L Ripley – a cartoonist and collector – who travelled to 201 countries in 35 years "seeking the odd, the unusual, and the unexplained". And engage with rare finds – each one more unbelievable – as you make your way through the exhibit. Here are a few of our favourites:
The Peel P-50 Car (below) is the world's smallest road-legal car, worth around R1.2-million.
(Image: City Sightseeing South Africa)
Ripley travelled to South Africa four times. One of his visits was to Port Elizabeth, where he met a family of six generations – all alive at the same time. The cartoon showcased at the exhibit is the original.
(Image: City Sightseeing South Africa)
The Ripley's Believe It or Not! attraction is informative and interactive. Ask a guide to give you an initial tour before exploring the exhibit on your own.
(Image: City Sightseeing South Africa)
JT Saylors (a master "girner") was a regular at Ripley's first Odditorium Chicago in 1934, and is the poster child of the South African exhibit at the V&A Waterfront. "Girners" are people who have mastered the art of being able to put their lip over their nose.
(Image: City Sightseeing South Africa)
Eric Sprague is the Lizardman, who for the past 10 years has been transforming himself into a reptile. In addition to his head-to-toe tattoos and forked tongue, Eric performs several jaw-dropping stunts.
(Image: City Sightseeing South Africa)
Maria Jose Cristerna is one of the world's most unusual women. After being abused as a teenager, she reinvented herself as a vampire – a sign of her newfound inner strength to overcome adversity. Maria used to be a lawyer, but is now a tattoo artist and mother of four.
(Image: City Sightseeing South Africa)
A set of dentures made from crocodile teeth makes its world premiere at the exhibit. They belong to Bobby Blackburn, a keeper at the Cango Wildlife Ranch in Oudtshoorn, South Africa.
(Image: City Sightseeing South Africa)
A wax statue of Robert Wadlow, the tallest man ever recorded, stands 2.7m high. A suit and shoes belonging to Robert are also on display and visitors can take a seat in a giant chair next to him.
(Image: City Sightseeing South Africa)
Pictured on the left is Walter Hudson, who holds the Guinness World Record for the largest waist – it measured 302cm when he was at his peak weight of more than 542kg in 1987. On the right are Ibeji twin figures from the Yoruba region, Nigeria. If a twin dies in the Yoruba culture, the mother commissions a memorial figure (or two if both die) and the soul of the deceased twin is believed to be transferred to it.
(Image: City Sightseeing South Africa)
On your way out, pose for a photo behind the "fat suit", a replica of Robert Earl Hughes Jnr, who died in 1958 and was the world's heaviest person during his lifetime. At the age of six, Hughes weighed 92kg, and 485kg at his heaviest.
(Image: City Sightseeing South Africa)
To experience these oddities and more, hop off at stop 2 (the Clock Tower).
Buy your red bus tickets here.
