THE UFFINGTON WHITE HORSE

Dotted across the English countryside is a number of stark white horses

carved into the sides of hills. They measure hundreds of feet long and are
best viewable from overhead. The oldest of these white mares is the
Uffington White Horse. Dated 3,000-years-old by archaeologists, the
Uffington Horse is believed to be the stallion that started this trend. The Celts
clearly used it as a landmark, and crude depictions of it even show up on Iron
Age coins.

The origin of the Uffington Horse is entirely lost to time, though other chalk
carvingslike the Cern Abbas Gianthave been related to fertility or some
other religious idol. Researchers arent even sure the Uffington carving was
even meant to represent a horse. Some theorize it could be a saber-toothed
tiger or a deer.

What puzzles scientists even more is why people would make something
almost impossible to view without some sort of aerial transportation. The
horse is so iconic from the air that, believe it or not, it had to be covered up
during World War II to keep German fighter pilots from using it as a
navigation aid.
Seventeen similar horses have survived to modern times, but many more are
known to have existed. It became fashionable for wealthy landowners in the
18th and early 19th century to carve their own versions of chalk horses into
hillsides on their land. Lost figures have either been overgrown or worn away
due to lack of upkeep.

Chalk carvings like the Uffington Horse require constant upkeep to keep
grass from overtaking it, or the chalk from fading away. What makes the
Uffington White Horses 3,000-year lifespan unbelievable, is that people have
kept it up all this time.

The United Kingdoms National Trust has taken over protection of the horse
and uses volunteers to help re-chalk the horse a few times a year.
 WOMEN JUMPING OUT OF CAKES
Cool Stuff, Strange Things

Hosted by Ripleys lead researcher, Sabrina Sieck, let Ripleys Believe It or

Not! introduce YOU to the coolest stuff and strangest things.

Today: Women In Cakes

Ripleys recently purchased the most expensive dress ever sold at auction5
million dollars for the gown worn by Marilyn Monroe at JFKs birthday
celebration. With a price tag like that, I dont blame the blondie for not
slinking out of a cake to sing Happy Birthday Mr. President, but it would have
made for a memorable entrance.

On todays episode of Cool Stuff Strange Things: How did the tradition of girls
jumping out of cakes start anyway?!

Scandal & Murder

Believe it or not, the first recorded pop-out cake party is linked toMURDER.
Way back in 1895, a wealthy architect named Stanford White hosted a
gathering for some well-to-do gentlemen of the era. During the party, an
unusually large pie was brought out and, unexpectedly, out popped a
scantily clad young girl by the name of Susie Johnson.

Behind the scenes of the party, Stanford was having an affair, which led to a
scorned lover shooting him over a decade later in what the media dubbed
The Trial of the Century. But this didnt just make headlines because of the
blood, wealth, and scandal; the country was enthralled by the Pie Girl
Dinner, as the details of the of what exactly happened the night Susie
Johnson (as well as a bunch of birds) popped out of a delectable dessert
became public.

But, this True Crime cake caper and its feathered friends stemmed from ancient
history: raging Roman dinner parties.

Ancient Romans

The Ancient Romans were the first to mix food with live entertainment. They
were also the predecessors of the turducken, cooking and stuffing one animal
such as a roasted piginside another, like a cow. Pretty much a paleo hot
pocket. Chefs even created the mythical beast dubbed, a Cockentrice, a bizarre
Buffalo-Bill-splicing of a pig and a chicken into a new animal. They were even
fond of staging their proteins to look like they were alive, like stuffing an apple in
a pigs mouth or plating fish swimming in a sea of sauce.

The next logical step, of course, was actually using live animals. By the end of
the Middle Ages, it was very popular to stuff live birds inside food in order for
them to fly out once it was sliced open!

But, how? Those poor little birdies! Well, think more along the lines of a pot pie
rather than a Twin Peaks slice of cherry. The crust was thick and baked first, later
placed on top to form a lid, like that of a pot (hence the term pot pie). The
birds would then be set inside and the lid put on prior to serving. So, these little
guys would not actually be baked into the pie.
If youre wondering how someone could bring themselves to consume an avian
influenza flavored dish, dont fret. The chef would usually have another pie on
standby to actually eat, as the birds were sure to leave a few surprises of their
own in there

The Pie-Encased Orchestra

Animals became pass and humans entered into the mix. Believe it or not, at a
banquet hosted by French engineer Philippe Le Bon, 28 musiciansan entire
orchestrawas crammed into a pie! And, in 1626, the Duke and Duchess of
Buckingham presented Charles I with a dwarf-filled pie. Standing just 45
centimeters tall, Sir Jeffery Hudson, a.k.a. Lord Minimus, emerged from the
crust in a full suit of armor!

By the 1800s, as we know from the story of Susie Johnson, pie girls were
presented as entertainment for the male elite. By the 1950s, showgirls jumping
out of giant cakes became mainstream for office gatherings and conventions.
But, by the 1970s, the feminist movement took shape, and with more and more
women in the workplace, illustrious ladies covered in frosting were less welcome
at company functions. The tradition faded away to the deepest darkest depths
of the bachelor party and to vortexes of vice like Las Vegas.

However, it was not lost. From Some Like It Hot, in which a thug pops out with a
machine gun, to more modern examples, like Mariah Careys Loverboy music
video, we can thank pop culture for keeping the tradition alive!
 There was something in that cake that didnt agree with them.

Let Them Eat Cake

Let them eat cakeand jump out of it! Actually, according to historians, Marie-
Antoinette didnt really say thatnot even the let them eat cake part. Just
another cool snippet for you to hold you over until next week. Until then, make
sure to subscribe, save room for dessert and stay strange

JFK KEPT A COCONUT ON HIS DESK FOR A

VERY IMPORTANT REASON

The JFK Coconut

During his tenure as president, John F. Kennedy kept a strange collection of

desk ornaments and paperweights. Among the scrimshaw whale teeth and
model ships was the dried husk of a coconut. That coconut helped save the
life of Kennedy and the crew under his command in World War II.

PT 109

During the war in the Pacific with the Japnese Empire, Kennedy served as the
commander of a Torpedo Patrol Boat (PT Boat) in the Solomon Islands. In
command of PT 109, he led 30 successful missions before disaster struck.
During a night patrol mission, Kennedys boat was struck by the Amigiri, a
Japanese naval destroyer. He crashed resulted in an explosion, killing two
crewmembers. The remaining ten managed to grab on to a floating piece of
wreckage, but they were left stranded in the open ocean.

Drifting south, they spotted land and managed to swim 3.5 miles to the
shore. Kennedy himself towed a badly injured soldier while grasping a life-
vest with his teeth. A competitive swimmer in school, Kennedy volunteered
to swim from the first islandwhich had no food or waterto another. He
eventually found an island with coconuts and water, and the whole team
swam for it.

This whole time, the crew had to be careful. Japanese patrols and secret
outposts could be anywhere. Eventually, the group spotted a pair of natives
in a canoe. Hailing the boatmen, Kennedy carved a message into a coconut
husk indicating how many crewmen were alive, and that they needed help
Nauro Isl Commander Native Knows PositHe Can Pilot 11 Alive Need
Small Boat Kennedy
Kennedys message

Rescue Coconut

The natives that found Kennedy, Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana, took great risk
transporting this message to allied forces. Native spies had been captured and
tortured by the Japanese Navy before. Kennedy even warned them to scratch
out the message if they were caught. The pair traveled 35 miles, and delivered
the message, bringing back help for the stranded crew.

Kennedy didnt keep the coconut, but it was recovered years later and returned
to him. He had it encased in resin, and JFK kept the coconut on his desk for the
duration of his presidency. Now, its on display at the John F. Kennedy Library at
the Boston Museum.
 NO, YOU CAN NOT RUN AWAY FROM THE

WALKING FISH

Walking Fish

During a night dive in Bali, Emeric Benhalassa came across what looks like a fish
walking, yes on legs, across the seafloor. An avid diver, Emeric says he was
fascinated by what he found and couldnt help but be mesmerized by it. He
immediately thought the stingfish was attracted to the light he had with him.

STINGFISH

The main question you have to ask yourself, is this really a stingfish? Otherwise
known as a member of the genus Minous, the stingfish has had quite an
evolution. Believe it or not, the fins of these fishes have separated due to the
sea creature evolving. They use those fins to drill into the seafloor for
crustaceans and worms. Our Husbandry Director at Ripleys Myrtle Beach
Aquarium, Tim Handsel studied the being to share some of his expert advice.
 It is extremely hard to give discrete animal identifications without the
critter in hand. It also helps to have a good species key to refer to as you try
to eliminate similar species.

Its one of the reasons why ichthyologists tend to be skeptics. Why? Ichthyology
is a special branch of zoology. Scientists devote their time to studying just fish.
Its commonly referred too as fish science. Ichthyologists collect samples and
even measure these sea animals furthermore analyzing all their work in a
laboratory. When they discover a new species they even have the honor of
naming it. Ultimately, its important to question any species when its done
visually.

When I compare photos from a Striped Stingfish to the one in the video, I
would say it is possible that this is the same species; however, using fish
coloration to discern closely related species can be tricky at best in that
there are species that have color variations between juveniles and adults
and, day coloration versus nighttime color patterns, said Handsel.

Again, Handsel reinforces that to ID such a fish is to work with the species keys
and holotypes. You cant do that without having it in your hands. Do you think
you have what it takes to ID this fish? Go ahead and compare the video to the
image above of the Striped Stingfish. Do you think you have what it takes to ID
this fish? Go ahead and compare the video to the image above of the Striped
Stingfish.

Whitetail Goblinfish

The walking fish has been linked to the commonly found Whitetail Goblinfish. It
can be found in the Yellow Sea, off the northern, northeastern and southwestern
coasts of Taiwan, in the East China Sea, and the South China Sea including the
shores of Peng-hu Island and Hong Kong. Also in the south of the Misaki
Peninsula in southern Japan.
In this case, photos of the Whitetail Goblinfish are similar to the pictures of
this fish but who is to say without the animal in hand, said Handsel. The
legs are not new to the fish world, look at the sea robin, flying gurnard,
and longnose batfish to name a few. These legs are modified pectoral fin
rays that are specialized for sorting through the bottom sediment in search
of food. They also add an additional means (walking) of locomotion for the
animal.

This is a Flying Gurnard This is a Sea Robin

Final Thoughts

While others might say this fish belongs to a particular category, perhaps its
an entirely a new species. The peculiar specimen is just one of the many
things you can find under the mysterious waters of this planet.
YOU CAN BE BLESSED, MARRIED, AND
TAUGHT

BY A ROBOT
 Robot

I dont know about you, but the thought of The Terminator movies coming to
life has haunted me even to this day. While most people might not think
weve reached our Terminator days, Id like to say we have. From marrying
a robot to being blessed by one, it looks like weve accepted them as our
kind.

Engineer Marries Robot Woman

Believe it or not, Zheng Jiajia, a 31-year-old AI engineer, has married a robot he

created. Her name? Yingying. The electronic beauty can visually recognize
Chinese characters and images. Lets not forget she can respond to anyone in
simple sentences. Not only has the robot become his wife but she also has a job
as the spokesperson for Zhengs startup Brain of Things ( ). While
the marriage is not legal, the couple had quite a traditional Chinese wedding
that consisted of Yingying covered in a red veil. It was beautiful. Zheng plans on
upgrading his wife to walk and take care of those household chores. In an
interview with Pear Video, he said,

My dream of making my own spouse finally came true. I want to see robots
in every home, and ultimately I want to build a realistic robot girlfriend.

German Robot Priest

Otherwise known as BlessU-2, this robot can bless you in five different
languages. It can easily be activated by touching the screen that is conveniently
located on its chest. From French to Polish you can receive the blessing from a
male or female voice. Once activated, the arms of the robot priest raise up to
the heavens above and bless you with its flashing palms. What might seem
more like a rave party, BlessU-2 recites, God bless and protect you. Now thats
a whole new way of experiencing the holy spirit.

While the robot was created to provoke debate about possibly being blessed
by a machine and not needing a human for that, it looks like Stephan Krebs, the
creator, bargained for more than he would have liked. Many say Krebs creation
might be the solution to a Europe-wide shortage of priests. You can stop by and
visit the bizarre robo-priest who just happens to print your blessings for future
prayers. Looks like youll never be running late for mass.

Master Xianer

Just when you thought that science and spirituality would end with a German
robot priest you now find yourself chanting along with a Robot Monk. Better
known as Master Xianer, the monk has been described as not only cute, but
funny and quite philosophical. Dressed in a yellow saffron robe and of course
equipped with a touch screen, you can learn the basic tenets of faith. Developed
at Longquan Temple in China, you can hold a conversation with more like ask
it simple questions about Buddhism. Its surprising to see how religion has
slowly made its way back into daily life since Chinas Communist Party is
officially atheist. Perhaps this form of technology is keeping Buddhism alive.
 A GIRL WAS FROZEN IN SUB-ZERO
TEMPERATURES AND SURVIVED

Frozen On An Arctic Night In 1980

On a chilly night in Minnesota, a girl found herself seeking shelter in 22-below-

zero temperatures after her car skidded off the road into a ditch. Within her
view, Jean Hilliard saw a farmhouse. Grabbing her mittens and coat, Jean made
her way through the icy gravel road. Unfortunately, the farmhouse was empty,
and the one next to it was also. She saw a house not too far and thought,
another two miles wouldnt be so bad.

Jeans body was found only 15 feet away from the door of the third house Jean
attempted to contact. Her body laid frozen in the snow. Wally Nelson, the owner
of the house, found, what he thought to be her corpse. Nelson described her
face to be ghost-white and her body as stiff as a popsicle. Unsure of what do
with her, Nelson suddenly heard a slight moan coming from the girls body.

Without hesitation, Nelson carried Jeans frozen body into the backseat of his
car. It was the only place shed fit since none of her joints could bend. Nelson
said it was apparent that she had crawled her way to the house before she
collapsed. It looked like she had fallen about four times from a mailbox that was
about one-eighth of a mile down the road.
 Hospital Visit

It looked like Jeans frozen body had a slim chance of surviving. Her body
temperature couldnt even register on the thermometer. Doctors said her pupils
were dilated; her eyeballs completely frozen. Not only that, but her feet were
crystallized into the shape of her winter boots. The medics couldnt find a pulse,
yet alone blood pressure, because it was impossible to find a vein on her body.
George Sather, the doctor, said he wasnt sure if she would be able to survive
but couldnt give up on her since he also heard a faint moan.

Unsure of how much longer she had left, he proceeded to wrap Jeans frozen
body with an electric heating pad that was circulating with 102-degree water.
Also giving her oxygen, the heating pad was removed when her temperature
finally reached around 98 degrees.

Surviving

Miraculously surviving the intense frostbite, it did seem that Jean would be
forced to have both legs amputated after defrosting. Believe it or not, Jean made
a full recovery. There was no sign of any damage. Doctors say that the only
thing they owe this speedy recovery to was her youth and incredible circulation.

It looks like someone got lucky.

 FIRST EVER TWO-HEADED PORPOISE
DISCOVERED

Two-Headed Porpoise

A two-headed porpoise was caught in a net by Dutch fishermen in the North

Sea, this harbor porpoise is the first of its kind ever discovered. Here at Ripleys
Believe It or Not!, we are no strangers to polycephalya congenital condition in
which an animal is born with multiple heads. If there are just two, the condition
can be referred to as dicephaly. Though turtles and snakes are the most
common dicephalic animals, two-headed cows, sheep dogs, cats, fish, and pigs
are also regularly documented.
 Incredibly Rare

While the harbor porpoise is fairly common is this part of the world, no two-
headed creature has ever been seen. In fact, this species has only ever been
seen producing twins at all one time before. In the cetacean familywhich
includes whales, dolphin, and porpoisesonly 10 cases of polycephaly have
been recorded, according to Online Journal of the Natural History Museum
Rotterdam.

The Find

The fishermen were 15 nautical miles off the coast when they noticed something
strange in their beam trawl net. They pulled the strange form aboard, but it was
already dead. The porpoises were 27-inches long and weighed about 13 pounds.
The twins were male, but are unlikely to have survived longif at all.
Polycephalic animals often live for just a few days, as their organs struggle to
meet the demands of their bodies. A cetacean especially would have great
difficulty swimming with two brains telling it what to do.

Lost At Sea

While we would have liked to add the twins to our collection of animal oddities,
the fishermen decided to cast it back into the sea. They feared possessing the
dolphin could be illegal. Thus the specimen is lost to us and scientists alike.
 IS THIS THE CREEPIEST TABLEWARE
EVER?

Beautifully Creepy

Ronit Baranga is a ceramic sculptor from Israel. Just by peeking at

her website you can see that none of her creations are normal: Theyre
creepy, crawly, and some will make your skin cringeand her latest work is
even better.
 Blurred Border Between Living & Still

Hybrid tea set will walk away

Ronit created a standard set of tableware ceramics with human mouths,

teeth, tongues, and fingers protruding from the plate. It looks like some
of the plates will try to crawl away or nip at you or your food if you tried
eating off of them. As cool as these are I dont think I could ever eat off of
them!

The useful, passive, tableware can now be perceived as an active object,

aware of itself and its surroundings responding to it. It does not allow to be
taken for granted, to be used. It decides on its own how to behave in the
situation.
-Ronit Baranga
 THE PRINCETON CAT EXPERIMENT:

TURNING A CAT INTO A PHONE

Cool Stuff, Strange Things

Hosted by Ripleys lead researcher, Sabrina Sieck, let Ripleys
Believe It or Not! introduce YOU to the coolest stuff and strangest
things.
 Today: The Cat Phone

The Princeton Cat Experiment

If we told you a live cat could be turned into a telephone, would you believe it?
You better. Successful kitten transmissions were made in 1929, and believe it or
not, it was no Island of Doctor Moreau shenanigan, it was done in a lab by two
Princeton researchers!

Ring Ring

In 1929 Ernest Wever and Charles Bray thought, Hey, how about a cat
telephone? Yeahlets do it in the name of science! and proceeded to
remove part of a cats skull, along with most of its brain, and attach an
electrode to the animals right auditory nerve and another to the cats body.

Those electrodes were hooked up to an amp and the signals were sent to a
telephone receiver. To Ernie and Chucks surprise, when they talked into the
ear of the cat, the sound could be heard in the receiver. IT WORKED! The cat
itself acted as the telephones transmitting end.

The Cat Phone

Their research states that speech was transmitted with great fidelity, and was
easily received. They even said this could actually be employed as a means
of communication. The Princeton cat survived the first experiment, but Ernie
and Chuck went for round two, deciding to kill the cat and try again. They were
not successful.

Lesson Learned?

Although certain aspects of the experiment were later disproven, it is believed

that this insanity inspired research on cochlear implants, which also convert
sound into electrical signals. This stimulates the auditory nerve to create a
sense of hearing in deaf individuals.
 LION AND WEENIE DOG ARE BEST FRIENDS

Lion And Weenie Dog Friendship

Meeting each other at just six weeks old, this lion and weenie dog have become
best friends. Abby, the dachshund, and Bonedigger, the male Barbary lion, are
an extremely unlikely pair of friends. What could be no more than a hotdog-
sized snack for the cat, has become his lifelong companion. The two will chase
and play, nipping at each others faces.

Theyre always just loving on each other.

-John Reinke, park manager
Both live at the G.W. Exotic Animal Park, where animals from all over have been
placed with nowhere else to go. According to Bonediggers caretaker, he doesnt
like anyone else in the cage, besides the dachshunds. When he has to remove
the dogs to perform maintenance, Bonedigger will pace and whine until her
friends are let back inside.

John Reinke, the park manager, chalks the relationship up to dachshunds lack of
self-awareness. In the same way, the dogs attack his weed wacker during
maintenance, he thinks the dogs wouldnt even consider Bonedigger a threat.
They lick and lay on each other and Abby will even chase Bonedigger around his
enclosure.
 SNAIL WAKES UP AFTER 5 YEARS OF
BEING GLUED TO A MUSEUM CARD

Snail Wakes Up

In 1846, authorities at the British Museum glued what they thought was a
deceased snail to a piece of cardboard for display. After it seemingly became
unglued 5 years later, they discovered it had been alive the whole time.
Collected by Charles Lamb, Esq., from the Egyptian desert in March of 1846. He
sent his specimen of Helix desertorum to the museum shortly after.

Pronounced Dead

Believing the snail to have expired in transit, they glued him to a cardboard
show card. Little did they know that the snail had retreated deep into the spiral
of its shell in a deep sleep. For five years, nobody knew the secrets hidden in
the whorls of calcium carbonate at the British Museum.
 The Lazarus Snail

One day curators noticed something strange about their catatonic mollusk: the
shell seemed to have moved from its gluedposition and a trail of discoloration
followed it. Archivists removed it from the card to give it a bath, with a suspicion
the snail might have in fact been slumbering.

After just a few minutes of exposure to moisture, the snails head poked from its
shell and surveyed its new home with four eye stalks. Scientists reckon the last
time the snail had been awake was in the Egyptian desert. The snail was fed
some cabbage before falling back asleep for another two years.