Believe it or not

Robert Ripley, an American,  travelled to 201 countries and was a explorer, broadcaster and reporter. His life was a constant search for the unbelievable.  He coined the phrase ” believe it or not” and there are 30 of his odditoriums . Yesterday I visited one at Piccadilly Circus with my godson for his Xmas treat at Piccadilly Circus.

There you can find a picture of Elvis Presley made of soda cans and one of Mohammed Al Fayed made of old pennies; a knitted Ferrari; a Rolls Royce made of 1,000,000 matchsticks; shrunken  heads; elephants with 2 heads; a woman with a mule’s mouth; and ghoulish implements of torture. My godson had a whale  of a time, though he was scared by the shark that inflicted 463 stitches.

There was a mirror maze that defeated everyone but my godson, who led a troupe of disorientated visitors not to the exit, but back to the entrance. At which point his mother took over as team leader and we managed to get lost again.

I was concerned it might be a freak show or London Dungeon, but it mainly celebrated achievement – albeit eccentrically .

It’s testament to a remarkable  individual termed the Marco Polo of his times. When asked what – amongst all he collected – was the strangest thing he ever saw, he replied “Man.”