Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Based on the travels and discoveries of oddity-hunter Ripley, this show looked at the people, places and events that made up the stranger side of human history. Subjects have included Nikola Tesla, The Bermuda Triangle, The Elephant Man, and Mad King Ludwig.
- 1982-1986
- 4 seasons
- ABC
- Documentary, Family
Based on the travels and discoveries of oddity-hunter Ripley, this show looked at the people, places and events that made up the stranger side of human history. Subjects have included Nikola Tesla, The Bermuda Triangle, The Elephant Man, and Mad King Ludwig.
Season 1 Episode Guide
19 Episodes 1982 - 1983
Episode 1
Episode #1.1
Mon, Aug 23, 1982
Moments captured through stroboscopic photography; buildings designed to appear unfinished or crumbling; a Paris cemetery considered "fashionable"; a conductor who can't read music conducting "the world's worst orchestra" in London.
Episode 2
Episode #1.2
Mon, Aug 23, 1982
Believe it or not: digging up graveyards in China to make room for more bodies. The perilous journey of a newborn kangaroo toward the pouch. A musical staircase. A funeral where grief is expressed by removing a finger tip. Making music with leaves. A grave with a large granite limousine. The Japanese soldier who continued WWII after it ended. Junkyard instruments. Making music with brain waves. The last of the Shakers. And the feud of the Hatfields and McCoy's.
Episode 3
Episode #1.3
Sun, Oct 17, 1982
Episode 4
Episode #1.4
Sun, Oct 24, 1982
The Real Robinson Crusoe, Alexander Selkirk; Tarantulas; Jumping Spiders; Fishing Spiders; trapdoor spiders; Dancing Procession of Echternach, Luxembourg; Sufi Whirling in Turkey; Su ngyung Rite; Miracle of St. Mandarins in Naples; Mad King Ludwig II of Bavaria; Wedding Customs of Papua, New Guinea, Turkey, and Korea; Olympic Men 's Marathon of Dorando Pietri in 1908.
Episode 5
Episode #1.5
Sun, Nov 7, 1982
Episode 6
Episode #1.6
Sun, Nov 14, 1982
Episode 7
Episode #1.7
Sun, Nov 21, 1982
Episode 8
Episode #1.8
Sun, Nov 28, 1982
Episode 9
Episode #1.9
Sun, Dec 5, 1982
Episode 10
Episode #1.10
Sun, Dec 5, 1982
Episode 11
Episode #1.11
Sun, Jan 9, 1983
Episode 12
Episode #1.12
Sun, Jan 16, 1983
The real story of the Man in the Iron Mask, the failing painting The Last Supper, falcons hunting, a sea lion on the Atlantic terrorizing penguins, miniature city in Denmark, match-stick artistry, shaping a diamond, ancient cave paintings, making diamonds from coal, the Hope Diamond, bird breeding, humming birds, the Navy vs. birds, rescuing breaking and flooded Egyptian monuments, the problems facing Venice, endangered monuments, miniature toy train, miniature toy war, and a trick to build a tower on three upright dominoes and have it still stand by removing two of them.
Episode 13
Episode #1.13
Sun, Jan 23, 1983
Episode 14
Episode #1.14
Sun, Feb 6, 1983
Episode 15
Episode #1.15
Sun, Feb 13, 1983
Episode 16
Episode #1.16
Sun, Feb 20, 1983
Episode 18
Episode #1.18
Sun, Apr 10, 1983
Episode 19
Episode #1.19
Sun, Apr 17, 1983
The Mysterious execution of Michael Ney, computerized weapons of the future, surfing in a man-made ocean, The wildlife of New York City, The Japanese art of creating "food for the eyes."
Episode 20
Episode #1.20
Thu, May 5, 1983
The history of the Holywood sign; movie star's real names and famous lines that were never spoken; pigeon racing in Belgium; blackbirds that invaded a small town in North Carolina; a man who committed suicide with a deck of cards; a visit to Mecca.