ripley's believe it or not! reality shock!

1
subway loot Using dental floss and mousetrap glue, Puerto Rican native Eliel Santos makes around $150 a day by retrieving cash, jewelry and iPhones that have fallen down New York City subway grates. stinky town A pile of goat manure spontaneously caught fire at a farm in Windsor, Vermont, spreading a stink throughout the town and up to 5 mi (8 km) away. fish smuggler A Vietnamese man tried to smuggle seven live tropical fish into New Zealand by hiding them in plastic bags in his pants pocketsbut his plan floundered when Auckland Airport officials noticed water dripping from his bulging clothes. chimney geese People in Victorian Britain who could not afford chimney sweeps dropped live geese down their chimneys instead. $17,500 tip Aurora Kephart, a bartender at Conway’s Restaurant and Lounge in Springfield, Oregon, is often tipped by a customer with tickets from the state lottery. In October 2013 one such ticket won her $17,500. sting operation An attempted armed carjacking in Craighall, South Africa, was foiled when the suspects were chased down the street by an angry swarm of bees. emergency landing A single-engine airplane landed safely on a street in San Jose, California, in the middle of the rush-hour traffic. Noticing a malfunction shortly after taking off from nearby Reid Hillview Airport, the pilot was forced to make an emergency landing and managed to avoid all the traffic on the busy road before slowing to a halt in a right-turn lane. bottle message Diving in Michigan’s St. Clair River, Dave Leander spotted a bottle sticking out from under a thick layer of silt, and when he looked inside he found a message written by two young women 97 years earlier, in 1915. quadrillion debt Chris Reynolds of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, became one of the biggest debtors in the world for a minute when his e-mailed monthly balance statement from PayPal mistakenly told him he had a negative balance of more than $92 quadrillion! His debt was short-lived, however, as his balance showed the expected zero when he logged into his PayPal account. time traveler Ed Grigor from Endicott, New York, lost a gold watch engraved with his name in 1959but 53 years later it was found over 2,000 mi (3,200 km) away in Las Vegas, Nevada, and returned to him. termite terror An elderly lady in southern China lost over $10,000 of her savings after termites chewed through the bills. The termites actually nibbled more than $60,000 worth of cash that she had kept in a drawer, but luckily the bank managed to verify many of the damaged bills. MAILED OUT OF A JAIL Turkish prisoner Yasar Bayrak went on the run after he successfully mailed himself out of a jail in Willich, Germany, in 2008 in a giant FedEx box used for dirty laundry. SQUASHED IN A CAR DASHBOARD Officials at the Mexico–U.S .border stopped a suspicious-looking car in 2001 and found a 135-lb (61-kg) woman squashed in the dashboard, peering out through the glove compartment. HID INSIDE THE LANDING GEAR OF A JUMBO JET A 20-year-old Romanian man hid inside the landing gear of a jumbo jet on its 97-minute flight from Vienna, Austria, to London, England, in 2010 and survived despite enduring temperatures of –42°F (–41°C) and a severe lack of oxygen. HID IN A PLANE’S OVERHEAD LOCKER A man hid in a plane’s overhead luggage compartment at Pearson Airport, Toronto, in 2012, but was discovered before the flight took off for Panama City. SEWED INTO THE SEAT OF A CHEVROLET In 2001, Mexico’s Enrique Aguilar Canchola sewed himself into the seat of a Chevrolet minivan in an attempt to sneak into California, but was discovered when border guards spotted his legs and arms sticking out from the base of the seat. C R E A T I V E S T O W A W A Y S Shane Willmott has taught his pet mice to skateboard by building them a miniature skate park in the backyard of his home in Queensland, Australia, where they ride mouse-sized boards down vertical ramps and even through a ring of fire. Shane, who has also taught his mice to surf, said: “They love it. Mice are built to surf and skate because their center of gravity is so low. When they do fall off, they want to get straight back on board.” mouse STOWED AWAY IN A BUS WHEEL ARCH A 21-year-old Tunisian man stowed away in the wheel arch of a bus for 30 hours in 2011, hanging on grimly as it traveled 500 mi (800 km) across Europe. HIDING IN AN AIRLINE CARGO CONTAINER Roberto Viza Egües fled Cuba for Paris, France, in 2000 after hiding in an Air France cargo container at Havana Airport. After a 14-hour flight in freezing temperatures, he arrived in France where his application for asylum was denied. www.ripleybooks.com 15 BELIEVE IT! PACKED HIMSELF IN A SUITCASE Mexican prisoner Juan Ramirez Tijerina tried to escape jail in Chetumal by packing himself into his girlfriend’s suitcase. Guards spotted Maria del Mar Arjona looking nervous after visiting him when she left the prison pulling a bulky case. When they opened it, they found 19-year-old Ramirez, who was serving a 20-year sentence for illegal weapons possession, curled up inside.

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Ripley's Believe it or Not! 2014 annual Reality Shock!: Skateboarding Mouse

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  • subway loot Using dental floss and mousetrap glue, Puerto Rican native Eliel Santos makes around $150 a day by retrieving cash, jewelry and iPhones that have fallen down New York City subway grates.

    stinky town A pile of goat manure spontaneously caught fire at a farm in Windsor, Vermont, spreading a stink throughout the town and up to 5 mi (8 km) away.

    fish smuggler A Vietnamese man tried to smuggle seven live tropical fish into New Zealand by hiding them in plastic bags in his pants pocketsbut his plan floundered when Auckland Airport officials noticed water dripping from his bulging clothes.

    chimney geese People in Victorian Britain who could not afford chimney sweeps dropped live geese down their chimneys instead.

    $17,500 tip Aurora Kephart, a bartender at Conways Restaurant and Lounge in Springfield, Oregon, is often tipped by a customer with tickets from the state lottery. In October 2013 one such ticket won her $17,500.

    sting operation An attempted armed carjacking in Craighall, South Africa, was foiled when the suspects were chased down the street by an angry swarm of bees.

    emergency landing A single-engine airplane landed safely on a street

    in San Jose, California, in the middle of the

    rush-hour traffic. Noticing a malfunction

    shortly after taking off from nearby Reid Hillview

    Airport, the pilot was forced to make an emergency landing and managed to avoid

    all the traffic on the busy road before slowing to a halt in a right-turn lane.

    bottle message Diving in Michigans St. Clair River, Dave Leander spotted a bottle sticking out from under a thick layer of silt, and when he looked inside he found a message written by two young women 97 years earlier, in 1915.

    quadrillion debt Chris Reynolds of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, became one of the biggest debtors in the world for a minute when his e-mailed monthly balance statement from PayPal mistakenly told him he had a negative balance of more than $92 quadrillion! His debt was short-lived, however, as his balance showed the expected zero when he logged into his PayPal account.

    time traveler Ed Grigor from Endicott, New York, lost a gold watch engraved with his name in 1959but 53 years later it was found over 2,000 mi (3,200 km) away in Las Vegas,

    Nevada, and returned to him.

    termite terror An elderly lady in southern China

    lost over $10,000 of her savings after termites chewed through the

    bills. The termites actually nibbled more than $60,000 worth of cash that she had kept in a drawer, but luckily the bank managed to verify

    many of the damaged bills.

    Mailed out of a jail Turkish prisoner Yasar Bayrak went on the run after he successfully mailed himself out of a jail in Willich, Germany, in 2008 in a giant FedEx box used for dirty laundry.

    SquaShed in a car daShboard Officials at the MexicoU.S .border stopped a suspicious-looking car in 2001 and found a 135-lb (61-kg) woman squashed in the dashboard, peering out through the glove compartment.

    hid inSide the landing gear of a juMbo jet A 20-year-old Romanian man hid inside the landing gear of a jumbo jet on its 97-minute flight from Vienna, Austria, to London, England, in 2010 and survived despite enduring temperatures of 42F (41C) and a severe lack of oxygen.

    hid in a planeS overhead lockerA man hid in a planes overhead luggage compartment at Pearson Airport, Toronto, in 2012, but was discovered before the flight took off for Panama City.

    Sewed into the Seat of a chevroletIn 2001, Mexicos Enrique Aguilar Canchola sewed himself into the seat of a Chevrolet minivan in an attempt to sneak into California, but was discovered when border guards spotted his legs and arms sticking out from the base of the seat.

    c r e a t i v e S t o w a w a y S

    Shane Willmott has taught his pet mice to skateboard by building them a miniature skate park in the backyard of his home in Queensland, Australia, where they ride mouse-sized boards down

    vertical ramps and even through a ring of fire. Shane, who has also taught his mice to surf, said: They love it. Mice are built to surf and skate because their center of gravity is so low. When they do fall off, they want to get straight back on board.

    mouse

    Stowed away in a buS wheel arch A 21-year-old Tunisian man stowed away in the wheel arch of a bus for 30 hours in 2011, hanging on grimly as it traveled 500 mi (800 km) across Europe.

    hiding in an airline cargo containerRoberto Viza Eges fled Cuba for Paris, France, in 2000 after hiding in an Air France cargo container at Havana Airport. After a 14-hour flight in freezing temperatures, he arrived in France where his application for asylum was denied.

    www. r i p l e y b o o k s . c om15

    BELIEVE IT!

    packed hiMSelf in a SuitcaSeMexican prisoner Juan Ramirez Tijerina tried to escape jail in Chetumal by packing himself into his girlfriends suitcase. Guards spotted Maria del Mar Arjona looking nervous after visiting him when she left the prison pulling a bulky case. When they opened it, they found 19-year-old Ramirez, who was serving a 20-year sentence for illegal weapons possession, curled up inside.