Ripley's Believe It or Not by Ripley’s Believe It or Not! for August 01, 2013

A human body how big to make one penny? As for Mr. Meville, that’s quite an accomplishment!

I can believe it about Melville. I’ve read it. Imagine an entire chapter on which rope goes where on a sailing ship. Perhaps of interest to sailors of the day, but today????

It doesn’t take many bodies to come up with the lead—especially if they crossed the mob.

If English Lit teachers would quit scamming everybody into calling this super boring book a “classic,” it would be relegated to the junk heap where it belongs. Even when they made a movie about it, the movie even put me to sleep! Hawgowar mentioned the wasted chapter about rope. My pet peeve was the chapter that discussed the color white.

I totally agree with you!

Finally a use for dead bodies. We can now save the Penny

Melville was a horrible writer. Along with Moby Dick, I read Billy Budd, which was an unfinished, relatively short book, and it was just as bad. I remember reading that he had started a correspondence with Emerson (I think), and after a long-winded letter to him about writing, etc., Emerson wrote back asking Melville if he could find a certain type of boot for one of Emerson’s sons. I thought that was telling.

Melville’s most popular books in his lifetime were the first three: “Typee” (1846), “Omoo” (1847), and “Mardi” (1849). After that, his sales declined for most of the rest of his life. When he died in 1891, he was almost forgotten. it wasn’t until the 20th century that “Moby Dick” was declared a “masterpiece.” “Billy Budd” was not published until 1924.

Penny for your thoughts?

Melville’s books “Moby Dick” and “Billy Budd” are classics, because they show what the world of whaling and the sea were in that time period. They are boring to many people today, because they are used to the shoot ’em up, and action stories people read today (if they even bother to read).

Hope they’re not wasting honey bees on TNT!

It is true. They train the bees by tricking them. They put TNT powder of all the flowers around the bee haves. The bees learn to associate the small of TNT with pollen they use to make honey. In the mine field the people just watch where all the bees go. When they see a bunch of bees in one place that it is where a land mine is. The bees soon get bored and go look some where else and find another line mine. They keep track of where the bees are by a laser tracking system. Do a search for honey bees and land mines. The system does work but I do not know how well it works or if it is even worth the time and money. I just hope no one get a hold of any honey with TNT mixed in with it. That may not work out so well.

To bee or not to bee, – WHAM!

In 1943, steel pennies were coated with zinc.