Ripley's Believe It or Not by Ripley’s Believe It or Not! for July 02, 2021

Why did Russia sell Alaska?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoR_k4Go9W8

That would be 36 cents/acre today.

2¢ went a lot farther [or is it further] then.

There are still more than eighty “dry” counties scattered across the USA, including Moore County, Tennessee, home of the Jack Daniel’s Distillery.

It took Mississippi a while to realize all the tax revenue they were missing out on, and that— irrespective of laws— citizens were going to continue drinking alcohol. So Mississippi finally shrugged, and cashed in.

How many of those acres are unusable? That calculation has to drive the price per acre up by a nickel!

I hope they meant animal dog tags and not the ones we wear in the Armed Forces. Happy 4th!

In the interests of completeness of the alligator autopsy; was the spark plug from a two or four stroke engine?

That gator ate like a tiger shark.

Mississippi was home to some very happy and wealthy bootleggers and still is, from what one hears.

Feelings about Alaska run hot and cold. But better to have it than see it go to one of the two countries it separates.

That alligator was selective. No watches, phones, dog collars, or id bracelets. Wonder it reached that size.

there were counties in the state of Florida that were still dry in the late ’70’s

Five dog tags!? What were those G.I.’s doing in the swamp?

the nineteenth century was one of opportunistic land-buys……the Louisiana Purchase was 4 cents an acre

Alaska has a GDP of 50+ Billion USD – there was over 49.27 million ounces of gold yielded from Alaska from 1818 to 2018.

At todays prices of $1,780/ounce the gold is worth $89,000,000,000 (89 billion dollars)

So 89 Billion in gold and 20% of the US Domestic Oil Production and 50 Billion dollars in GDP = $190 billion dollars and we have not discussed mineral wealth (other than gold) natural wildlife, salmon fishing and etc.

All for $7.2 Million Dollars or $125 Million dollars today.

So I’d say it was a pretty good deal. Sewards folly indeed.

Jason, your comments are getting old. Give it up on being a comedian and keep your day job

I can believe the contents of the gator’s stomach except for the spark plug and bullet casing! Maybe a bullet but not the casing!

if a gator as big as Alaska drank all the liquor in Mississippi we might have a bit of a wobbly reptile – 3 believes, but one is somewhat iffy. I wonder if the Swamp people were responsible for the itty bitty gator they’re talking about?

I hope they mean dog collars or something like that? Not dog tags like soldiers!

Were those dog’s tags, or (soldier’s) dog tags?

I am reminded of the scene in “Jaws” where they’re emptying the contents from a shark’s stomach. When the Louisiana license plate was thrown across the floor the sheriff asked, “He didn’t eat the whole car, did he?” (or something like that). I wonder how the spark plug got in there? Sheesh!

Gators: Apex predators of the swamps.

Wow, so much hate in the comments! Sad to see it in a non-political comic strip comments section, it’s not good there too, but some people get very passionate about their politics. But here, it’s uncalled-for. I say, let people have their fun, they aren’t hurting anybody. ☮

I grew up near a little city in northeast Ohio named Tallmadge. They banned alcohol sales until 2002. Yes, 2002! You could tell where the city limits were by the location of the bars and drive-thrus in adjacent cities.

Tallmadge even made RBON back in 2002. Bottom panel.

https://www.gocomics.com/ripleysbelieveitornot/2002/10/26

the gator answered to the nickname “picky eater”…

That only shows how far behind the times, that Mississippi really is.