S4 Ep3: The Bizarre Realm of Oddities Museums

Did you know that America didn’t have an official national anthem until 1931? The same man who drew attention to that in 1929 is the same one we can pretty much credit with creating oddities museums.

In this episode, we get to know Robert Ripley and his pioneering influence on the bizarre realm of oddities museums.

What started as a comic strip series grew to become books, a radio show, a TV show with several revivals, and Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditoriums around the world, a legacy which has now grown to include over 100 Ripley brand attractions worldwide.

And as the saying goes, "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."

Whether they know it or not, Robert Ripley and his odditoriums at least indirectly inspired the existence of these oddities museums that we also explore in this episode:

1. Museum of the Bizarre in Wilmington, North Carolina

2. Museum of the Weird in Austin, Texas

3. Graveface Museum in Savannah, Georgia

4. Glitchy's Oddities in Saskatoon, Canada

Kind of like the eclectic collection of unusual artifacts in them --including everything from FeeGee mermaids and shrunken heads, to "freaks of nature," haunted objects, and horror movies props-- oddities museums are a rare breed. Maybe that’s what makes them so much fun to visit?

Check-In

Have you ever visited a Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum?

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Host & Guide

Courtney Mroch

Music

Danse Macabre - Violin Hook by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/3599-danse-macabre---violin-hook
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license