A new edition of Ripley’s believe it or not has been published. This one is titled “Ripley’s Believe It or Not: Expect the Unexpected (Ripley’s Believe It Or Not)
The large-format hardcover has hundreds of facts and photos about offbeat people, unusual animals, unfamiliar customs, bizarre happenings and fantastic feats — as well as some fantastic feet, including those of the Californian with size 29½ feet and the woman in China who functions normally although her feet face backward.
Here are more examples from the book that you are free to believe or — well, you know:
• A carbon-filament 4-watt light bulb has been burning in the Livermore, Calif., fire department since 1901, making it the world’s oldest-known working light bulb (and perhaps the only one with its own website: www.centennialbulb.org.)
• In 2005, a 25-year-old man from Calgary, Alberta, caught a boiled egg, thrown from 275 feet away, in his mouth.
• A letter mailed to a small town in Germany in 1718 was finally delivered — in 2004.
• A 26-year-old Croatian woman fell 40 feet from her apartment window in 2005 and survived after landing on her feet.
• The mouth of a hyena is so tough that the animal can chew a glass bottle without being cut.
• In 2005, a 100-year-old motorist in Belgium was given a discount on his auto insurance because he hadn’t had an accident in more than 80 years.
• And a slice of singer Justin Timberlake’s half-eaten French toast fetched $4,000 on eBay. But that included syrup and a fork.
