For over forty years the adventurous Robert Ripley explored the uncanny and amazing mysteries of the earth. His travels took him around the world in search of the unbelievable and inexplicable. First published in 1929, Robert Ripley's works were read worldwide in over 300 newspapers, translated into 17 languages and held a readership of over 80 million. Each of the 27 museums worldwide are 90% unique from the others. Ripley's Believe It or Not!® Museums are proud to offer you this fantastic collection of the world's strangest oddities!

Modeled after one of Van Gogh’s most famous paintings, "Self Portrait In Front Of Easel, 1888," this gigantic portrait entitled Study For Portrait of Van Gogh© was created by Cornel Biereng of Amsterdam from 3,000 postcards depicting 115 different Van Gogh paintings and drawings! Commissioned by the Netherlands Bureau of Tourism to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Van Gogh’s death in 1990, the 26 ft. tall by 20 ft. wide mural toured several cities throughout the world, including Paris, Berlin, Chicago and Toronto, as part of an extensive exhibition of Van Gogh’s paintings before being acquired by Ripley’s in 1992.

Ripley holding a Shrunken Head during one of his many radio broadcasts.   Ripley's stories of the odd and unusual entered millions of living rooms across America via radio. Amongst the rarest curiosities in the Ripley collection of unbelievable artifacts were shrunken heads from Ecuador, South America. Believe It or Not!, a shrunken head was once sent to Ripley with the following note: "Please take good care of this. I think it is one of my relatives!"

The practice of shrinking heads was once common amongst the Jivaro Indians of Ecuador. It was a ritual that had been handed down through generations. The heads of slain warriors were valued as trophies or symbols of bravery. When a fighter killed his enemy, the victim's head was removed. The skin was then peeled away from the skull and hot stones and sand were poured into the cavity. The head was sewn shut and boiled in herbs until it had shrunk to the size of a fist.

Matchstick 'Silver Ghost' Rolls Royce. This 1907 Silver Ghost Rolls Royce was made by Reg Pollard of Manchester, England from 63 pints of glue and 1,016,711 ordinary matchsticks! This 13 feet authentically detailed 3/4 scale model, complete with moving engine parts, wheels that turn, and lights that work took Mr. Pollard 4,609 man-hours, spread over fifteen months, to build! Suffering from acute arthritis, Mr. Pollard made over 550 matchstick models during his lifetime. Believe It or Not!

----------------------------------------------------------------------- Located at 8201 International Drive 2 blocks south of Sandlake road, just off (Eastbound) exit 74 - old 29 or (Westbound)74A - old 29A from Interstate 4. Now that you've got to InternationalDrive, Orlando, this is how do you get to Ripley's Believe It or Not!? Drive in for Free Parking, or take I-Ride Trolley

ORLANDO ODDITORIUM. 8201 International Drive. Orlando, Florida 32819