When you read a headline that makes you do a double take, something wild like “George Washington was NOT the first president of the United States,” you might assume it’s clickbait.
And if you were alive in the 1930s, that headline likely came from one man: Robert Ripley.
But here’s the thing… he had folders of evidence to back it up.
The Original Master of Clickbait?
Long before the internet, Robert Ripley knew how to spark curiosity, controversy, and conversation. He made his name not just by sharing strange facts but by framing them in a way that challenged what people thought they knew.
Take another example:
“Lindbergh was actually the 67th man to make a nonstop flight over the Atlantic Ocean.”
Facts like these weren’t just thrown out randomly—they were carefully researched, thoroughly documented, and illustrated in his now-iconic Ripley’s Believe It or Not! cartoons, which were syndicated in newspapers around the world.
People Tried to Prove Him Wrong for Years
Naturally, these claims sparked outrage. Historians, readers, even politicians would write in, ready to argue. But Ripley didn’t mind. He actually loved it.
Why? Because getting people to think, really think, was part of the plan. Ripley invited debate because it meant people were paying attention. And for every wild-sounding claim, he had folders of evidence to back it up.
That's right, actual folders. Thousands of them. Full of references, letters, photos, and documentation, painstakingly gathered to support the facts in every cartoon.
Believe It or Not!, It’s All True
So, was Robert Ripley a liar? Not even close. He was a storyteller, a showman, and most importantly, a truth-seeker, someone who understood that the world is far stranger and more fascinating than we often realize.
He knew that the most unbelievable truths are the ones that make you stop, question, and wonder. And that’s exactly what he wanted.
The Legacy Lives On
Ripley turned curiosity into a global obsession, and we’re still serving the strange daily. Come explore the unbelievable at Ripley’s Believe It or Not!