MINI BELIEVE IT OR NOT –

In the 18th century, people would use pineapples as table decorations to proclaim their status. The pineapples were not for eating.

  • Pineapples were seen as the most exotic fruit
  • They didn’t grow naturally in Europe or the American colonies
  • When entertaining guest, having a table stacked with impressive foods was seen as a status symbol
  • A Pineapple was often afforded the central spot in the arrangement, sometimes put on an actual pedestal

MINI BION EXTRAS

  • Pineapple is a natural painkiller. The fruit contains enzymes that can reduce the inflammation associated with arthritis and in this way bring pain relief
  • Bette Midler worked as a pineapple chunker
  • To mark the opening of his takeout pizza shop, Colin Helsby of Penmaenmawr, Wales, had a slice of ham-and-pineapple pizza tattooed on the back of his head
  • King Louis XIV of France, having never seen one, tried to eat an unpeeled pineapple and severely cut his lips

MINI BION

“BIONs” – short for Believe It or Not – is the word we use at Ripley’s to refer to anything that is unbelievable and worthy to become part of Ripley’s lore and collection.