Ripley's Believe It or Not by Ripley’s Believe It or Not! for August 14, 2017

I bet pigeon races are still going 199 years strong.

If you’re lucky, a free seafood entree will fall on your plate at the restaurant.

When I was young, I dreamt of going to Australia and New Zealand. Now, it seems like all the life forms there just want to kill you.

And all they serve is soup.

Waiter, my drink tastes watered down.

I wonder how many food or drink orders are wrong because the waiter couldn’t hear the customer? lol!

Along creeks here in western Illinois we have fire weed (or itch weed) with nettle leaves that will irritate one that walks through it, but is not deadly.t

I would be more concerned about the national debt. Or empty pockets of tourists who are unable to pay their hotel bill after contact with this tree.

Nettles have great medicinal value, belying it’s seemingly offensive nature.

Saw the actual photo of the waterfall in a Believe It or Not! book

Pigeons were used to carry messages in this area during WWI. The races probably came about as a use for these messengers who survived.

When my youngest brother was young, he belonged to a club that raced pigeons. My mom would take them in the car to wherever the starting point was supposed to be, and turn them loose. He had the doorbell of the house rigged so that when a pigeon landed at home, the bell rang, and my mom wrote down the time and identity of the pigeon. (My brother was at school; that’s how Mom ended up with these little chores; she was always willing to do most anything to keep her kids happy.) I will have to ask him if this club still exists nowadays, when kids (and adults – adults participated in this too) have so many other things to do. This happened back in the 70s.