City: Branson, MO

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (417) 337-5300, (800) 998-4418

Description: If the first thing you saw when you arrived in Branson was Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum, you might think the New Madrid fault had finally given way. The building is as much of an attraction as the weird collection inside. There’s a crack right down the middle of it, and the marquee lies half-cocked on one side. Huge chunks of missing mortar reveal the wood framing, and the water fountain out front is even split in half. Inside the second floor, the faux-earthquake theme continues with exposed ceiling beams and cracked Sheetrock. Once you finally dare to enter the building, you’ll encounter an immense collection of odd artifacts and unusual art based on the findings of Robert Ripley.Ripley spent 40 years traveling the world, from New Zealand to Tibet, in search of the unbelievable and inexplicable. A self-taught artist, Ripley started his “Believe It or Not” cartoon feature in 1918, and at the height of his popularity the cartoons could be found in more than 300 newspapers with a combined readership of 80 million—a feat Ripley himself would have been amazed to report. In 1933 he opened his first Odditorium at the Chicago World’s Fair, and nearly two million people came to view such objects as a shrunken head from Ecuador, a two-headed calf, and photos of the world’s tallest man.Today, people’s fascination with incredible facts, strange artifacts, and “impossible feats” continues to thrive. There are 26 Ripley’s museums around the world, each with a different list of contents. In Branson you’ll find cool collectibles from many local celebrities. Doug Gabriel’s first muftar, a musical instrument crafted by his father out of a muffler and guitar parts, is on display, as well as one of Shoji Tabuchi’s fiddles. There’s even an intact candy bar that survived scorching temperatures in the Mickey Gilley Theatre fire in 1993. In April 1998 the museum added a gallery with 45 new exhibits, including a replica of an ancient Chinese emperor’s dragon ship. It is one of only eight existing hand-carved jade ships in the world. It stands 9 feet tall and 12 feet long and weighs more than 1,800 pounds. The gallery also contains a carving called Universal Celebration that is almost as large as the jade ship. Made out of camel bones, the carving contains intricately detailed pagodas, flying cranes, and bonsai trees. There’s also a rice-grain painting of the four Beatles, a Last Supper painting on a coin, a toothpick carving made to look like Dracula, handpainted potato chips, and a purse made out of cigarette wrappers.Robert Ripley makes an appearance on each self-guided tour in a short holographic presentation from his study. There are plenty of other high-tech interactive displays at the museum, such as the tongue-rolling test. Kids will get a kick out of the giant jelly-bean portrait of Mary Poppins, the figure of Liu Ch’ung (the man who had two pupils in each eye), and the stretch limousine with its heart-shaped hot tub. From time to time Ripley’s rotates some of its more popular exhibits among the various locations around the world. One of the most popular exhibits ever to go on tour was the African fertility statue. When it was on display in the Branson museum a few years ago, women who touched it were asked to fill out a card to send back to the company if they found themselves pregnant in the months following the encounter. While the statue was on tour, Ripley’s headquarters reported attendance was up 30 percent, and during a 14-month period, 14 women became pregnant after touching the statue. Was it coincidental, or did the statue really have magical powers? Believe it or not! Plan to spend at least two hours at the museum in order to get the full flavor of the place. There’s a unique gift shop to visit at the end of the tour. Tickets are $16.95 plus tax for adults, and children 4 to 12 get in for $8.95. Children younger than four get in free. The museum is open daily from 9 a.m. until 11 p.m. March through December and from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. January and February.