Ripley's Believe It or Not by Ripley’s Believe It or Not! for April 08, 2020

how do they even make sure the pineapples don’t rot on the plane? some sort of refrigeration?

I bet that thing could suck the nads off a rhino.

You can leave with the fresh produce but good luck on getting it into California.

I am not sure about the Hawaiian Airlines one. do they mean the passenger travels for free (just to get the %&%% tourists off the island) or that they do not charge baggage fees for the 10 pounds of produce?

Another amusing piece of produce trivia is that you can take a coconut (with the husk still on) and after having it inspected and certified bug free, mail it to anywhere in the world as a postcard.

Your luggage fees however, will make you cry over your box of fruit.

I bet that vacuum cleaner picked up a whole lot more than just dirt!

“Muad’Dib is wise in the ways of the desert. Muad’Dib creates his own water. Muad’Dib hides from the sun and travels in the cool night. Muad’Dib is fruitful and multiplies over the land. Muad’Dib we call ‘instructor-of-boys.’ That is a powerful base on which to build your life, Paul-Muad’Dib.” ―Stilgar

I heard that horse hauled vacuum sucked.

OK, but, what if you’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts?

What kind of seeds do you find in the Sahara desert?

There is only one pineapple plantation left on the islands. They produce Maui Gold and they are really sweet. Dole moved all pineapple production to places like Singapore, Philippines, and south America. There is also no longer sugar produced on the islands, that was all moved to different countries as well.

And then you have to leave it at the nearest local turnpike, I suppose. :p

I’d bet that the pineapples and papayas are from the Philippines. I didn’t know Hawaii had any plantations.

Recently I had my duct work cleaned (allergy sufferers in home). They did an amazing job; you could dine off the insides of my ducts (but it would be kinda dark). The point: they drove up in a van that had the mechanism in it, and long hoses that went into the house. The only difference here was that the van wasn’t horse-drawn.

Kangaroo rats are native to North America. A similar looking rodent lives in the Sahara and Gobi deserts, and is called the Jerboa. The two are of the same genus but are classified into different families. It is true that they get their water almost exclusively from the seeds and plants that they eat.

Normally Ripley’s drawings are really accurate. This one of the rodent isn’t very good. The front legs look like they are coming from between the hind legs, and the hind legs look much too close to the head!

During the early 90’s I was stationed at Hickam AFB (Honolulu) and did TDY’s all over the Pacific. On trips to Elmendorf AFB (Anchorage, AK) I would grab a two pack of fresh pineapples at the airport to trade for a parka.

That worked pretty good for me since I had completely lost track of my winter clothes after moving to Hawaii. And it wasn’t that I needed to bribe anyone for a parka, but it did serve as a good well gesture that made my arrival a much happier one for all concerned (I was coming from a higher headquarters as part of an inspection team). Under those circumstances (season and local expense) the fresh fruit was very welcome and, consequently, so was I.

I can’t IMAGINE how dirty those houses must have been…

Then when you land in Australia, quarantine will take your pineapples off you.

Just remember that when a vacuum cleaner works well, it really sucks. And when a fan works well, it really blows.