WORLDS TALLEST WOMAN SANDY ALLEN AUTOGRAPH SCARCE SIGNED FANTASTIC

Description: A VINTAGE ORIGINAL 8X10 INCH PHOTO SIGNED BY THE WORLDS TALLEST WOMAN SANDY ALLEN Sandra Elaine Allen (June 18, 1955 – August 13, 2008) was an American woman recognized by the Guinness World Records as the tallest woman in the world. She was 7 feet 7 inches (231 cm) tall. Sandra Elaine Allen (June 18, 1955 – August 13, 2008) was an American woman recognized by the Guinness World Records as the tallest woman in the world.[1][2] She was 7 feet 7 inches (231 cm) tall.[2] Allen wrote a book, Cast a Giant Shadow. Although over the years other women have taken the title of the tallest woman, Allen held it for the last sixteen years of her life.[2][3] Her height was due to a tumor in her pituitary gland that caused it to release growth hormone uncontrollably, between 200 and 1,000 times more than usual.[4] She grew up in Shelbyville, Indiana, and was raised by her grandmother, who worked as a cleaning woman.[4] At the age of 22, in 1977, she underwent surgery for the condition.[5] Lacking this procedure, Allen would have continued to grow and suffer further medical problems associated with gigantism.[2] She appeared in Fellini's Casanova, in the TV movie Side Show, and in a Canadian/American documentary film, Being Different.[6] The New Zealand band Split Enz wrote a song about her, "Hello Sandy Allen", released on their 1982 album Time and Tide. Allen never married, saying that she was "an oldfashioned [sic] girl" and would not date a man shorter than her.[7][4] In later years, Allen used a wheelchair because her legs and back could no longer support her tall stature while standing. At one point, she was bedridden due to disease, causing atrophy of the muscles. Due to this limitation, she spent her last years in Shelbyville, Indiana, in the same retirement center as Edna Parker, the oldest living human at the time.[8] Allen died on August 13, 2008.[1][5] Her family friend, Rita Rose, revealed that she suffered from a recurring blood infection, along with Type 2 diabetes, breathing troubles, and kidney failure.[9] A scholarship was dedicated in Allen's name at Shelbyville High School.[7] In 2020, Allen's friend and manager, John Kleiman, donated a collection of her memorabilia to Ripley's Museums.[3] Guinness World Records, known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as The Guinness Book of Records and in previous United States editions as The Guinness Book of World Records, is a reference book published annually, listing world records both of human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. The brainchild of Sir Hugh Beaver, the book was co-founded by twin brothers Norris and Ross McWhirter in Fleet Street, London, in August 1955. The first edition topped the best-seller list in the United Kingdom by Christmas 1955. The following year the book was launched internationally, and as of the 2022 edition, it is now in its 67th year of publication, published in 100 countries and 23 languages, and maintains over 53,000 records in its database. The international franchise has extended beyond print to include television series and museums. The popularity of the franchise has resulted in Guinness World Records becoming the primary international authority on the cataloguing and verification of a huge number of world records. The organisation employs record adjudicators to verify the authenticity of the setting and breaking of records. Following a series of owners, the franchise has been owned by the Jim Pattison Group since 2008, with its headquarters moved to South Quay Plaza, Canary Wharf, London in 2017. Since 2008, Guinness World Records has orientated its business model toward inventing new world records as publicity stunts for companies and individuals, which has attracted criticism. History Norris McWhirter co-founded the book with his twin brother Ross at 107 Fleet Street, London, in August 1955On 10 November 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver, then the managing director of the Guinness Breweries,[3] went on a shooting party in the North Slob, by the River Slaney in County Wexford, Ireland. After missing a shot at a golden plover, he became involved in an argument over which was the fastest game bird in Europe, the golden plover or the red grouse (it is the plover).[4] That evening at Castlebridge House, he realised that it was impossible to confirm in reference books whether or not the golden plover was Europe's fastest game bird.[5][6] Beaver knew that there must have been numerous other questions debated nightly among the public, but there was no book in the world with which to settle arguments about records. He realised then that a book supplying the answers to this sort of question might prove successful.[7] Beaver's idea became reality when Guinness employee Christopher Chataway recommended university friends Norris and Ross McWhirter, who had been running a fact-finding agency in London.[8] The twin brothers were commissioned to compile what became The Guinness Book of (Superlatives and now) Records, in August 1954. A thousand copies were printed and given away.[9] After the founding of The Guinness Book of Records office at the top of Ludgate House, 107 Fleet Street, London, the first 198-page edition was bound on 27 August 1955 and went to the top of the British best-seller list by Christmas.[10] The following year, it was introduced into the United States by New York publisher David Boehm and sold 70,000 copies.[11] Since then, Guinness World Records has sold more than 100 million copies in 100 countries and 37 languages.[12] Japanese competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi with two Guinness World Record certificates The North Beach (Nazaré, Portugal), listed on the Guinness World Records for the biggest waves ever surfedBecause the book became a surprise hit, many further editions were printed, eventually settling into a pattern of one revision a year, published in September/October, in time for Christmas. The McWhirters continued to compile it for many years. Both brothers had an encyclopedic memory; on the BBC television series Record Breakers, based upon the book, they would take questions posed by children in the audience on various world records and were able to give the correct answer. Ross McWhirter was assassinated by two members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army in 1975 for offering a £50,000 reward for their capture.[13] Following Ross's assassination, the feature in the show where questions about records posed by children were answered was called Norris on the Spot. Norris carried on as the book's sole editor.[8] Guinness Superlatives, later Guinness World Records Limited, was formed in 1954 to publish the first book. Sterling Publishing owned the rights to the Guinness book in the US for decades until it was repurchased by Guinness in 1989 after an 18-month long lawsuit.[11] The group was owned by Guinness PLC and subsequently Diageo until 2001, when it was purchased by Gullane Entertainment for $65 million.[14] Gullane was itself purchased by HIT Entertainment in 2002. In 2006, Apax Partners purchased HIT and subsequently sold Guinness World Records in early 2008 to the Jim Pattison Group, the parent company of Ripley Entertainment, which is licensed to operate Guinness World Records' Attractions. With offices in New York City and Tokyo, Guinness World Records' global headquarters remain in London, specifically South Quay Plaza, Canary Wharf,[15] while its museum attractions are based at Ripley headquarters in Orlando, Florida, US. Evolution Lucky Diamond Rich is "the world's most tattooed person", and has tattoos covering his entire body. He holds the Guinness World Records title as of 2006.Recent editions have focused on record feats by individuals. Competitions range from obvious ones such as Olympic weightlifting to the longest egg tossing distances, or for longest time spent playing Grand Theft Auto IV or the number of hot dogs that can be consumed in three minutes.[16] Besides records about competitions, it contains such facts such as the heaviest tumour,[17] the most poisonous fungus,[18] the longest-running soap opera[19] and the most valuable life-insurance policy,[20] among others. Many records also relate to the youngest people to have achieved something, such as the youngest person to visit all nations of the world, currently held by Maurizio Giuliano.[21] Each edition contains a selection of the records from the Guinness World Records database, as well as select new records, with the criteria for inclusion changing from year to year.[22] The retirement of Norris McWhirter from his consulting role in 1995 and the subsequent decision by Diageo Plc to sell The Guinness Book of Records brand have shifted the focus of the books from text-oriented to illustrated reference. A selection of records are curated for the book from the full archive but all existing Guinness World Records titles can be accessed by creating a login on the company's website. Applications made by individuals for existing record categories are free of charge. There is an administration fee of $5 to propose a new record title.[23] A number of spin-off books[24] and television series have also been produced. Guinness World Records bestowed the record of "Person with the most records" on Ashrita Furman of Queens, NY, in April 2009; at that time, he held 100 records, while he currently[when?] holds over 220.[25] In 2005, Guinness designated 9 November as International Guinness World Records Day to encourage breaking of world records.[26] In 2006, an estimated 100,000 people participated in over 10 countries. Guinness reported 2,244 new records in 12 months, which was a 173% increase over the previous year.[26] In February 2008, NBC aired The Top 100 Guinness World Records of All Time and Guinness World Records made the complete list available on their website.[27] The popularity of the franchise has resulted in Guinness World Records becoming the primary international authority on the cataloguing and verification of a huge number of world records.[28][29][30][31] Defining records Sultan Kösen (Turkey) is the tallest living person, at 8 feet 3 inches (2.51 m), as verified by Guinness World Records. Chandra Bahadur Dangi (Nepal), recognised as the world's shortest man ever by Guinness World RecordsCracking open a wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese as a part of a 2013 world record by Whole Foods Market[32]The team achieved 14 performance based Guinness World Records and other records.Fiann Paul, Alex Gregory and Carlo Facchino aboard Polar Row, the most record-breaking expedition in history[33]For many records, Guinness World Records is the effective authority on the exact requirements for them and with whom records reside, the company providing adjudicators to events to determine the veracity of record attempts. The list of records which the Guinness World Records covers is not fixed, records may be added and also removed for various reasons. The public is invited to submit applications for records, which can be either the bettering of existing records or substantial achievements which could constitute a new record.[34] The company also provides corporate services for companies to "harness the power of record-breaking to deliver tangible success for their businesses."[35] Ethical and safety issues Steven Petrosino drinking 1 litre of beer in 1.3 seconds in June 1977.[36][37] Petrosino set record times for 250 ml, 500 ml and 1.5 litres as well, but Guinness accepted only the record for one litre. They later dropped all alcohol records from their compendium in 1991, then reinstated the records in 2008.Guinness World Records states several types of records it will not accept for ethical reasons, such as those related to the killing or harming of animals.[38] Several world records that were once included in the book have been removed for ethical reasons, including concerns for the well-being of potential record breakers. For example, following publication of the "heaviest fish" record, many fish owners overfed their pets beyond the bounds of what was healthy, and therefore such entries were removed.[citation needed] The Guinness Book also dropped records within their "eating and drinking records" section of Human Achievements in 1991 over concerns that potential competitors could harm themselves and expose the publisher to potential litigation.[39] These changes included the removal of all spirit, wine and beer drinking records, along with other unusual records for consuming such unlikely things as bicycles and trees.[39] Other records, such as sword swallowing and rally driving (on public roads), were closed from further entry as the current holders had performed beyond what are considered safe human tolerance levels. There have been instances of closed categories being reopened. For example, the sword swallowing category was listed as closed in the 1990 Guinness Book of World Records, but has since been reopened with Johnny Strange breaking a sword swallowing record on Guinness World Records Live.[40][41] Similarly, the speed beer drinking records which were dropped from the book in 1991, reappeared 17 years later in the 2008 edition, but were moved from the "Human Achievements" section of the older book[42] to the "Modern Society" section of the newer edition.[43] As of 2011, it is required in the guidelines of all "large food" type records that the item be fully edible, and distributed to the public for consumption, to prevent food wastage.[34] Chain letters are also not allowed: "Guinness World Records does not accept any records relating to chain letters, sent by post or e-mail."[44] At the request of the U.S. Mint, in 1984, the book stopped accepting claims of large hoardings of pennies or other currency.[45] Environmentally unfriendly records (such as the releasing of sky lanterns and party balloons) are no longer accepted or monitored, in addition to records relating to tobacco or cannabis consumption or preparation.[46] Difficulty in defining recordsFor some potential categories, Guinness World Records has declined to list some records that are too difficult or impossible to determine. For example, its website states: "We do not accept any claims for beauty as it is not objectively measurable."[38] However, other categories of human skill relating to measurable speed such as "Worlds Fastest Clapper" were instated. On 27 July 2010, Connor May (NSW, Australia) set the record for claps, with 743 in 1 minute. On 10 December 2010, Guinness World Records stopped accepting submissions for the "dreadlock" category after investigation of its first and only female title holder, Asha Mandela, determining it was impossible to judge this record accurately.[47] Change in business modelTraditionally, the company made a large amount of its revenue via book sales to interested readers, especially children. The rise of the Internet began to cut into book sales in the 2000s and forward, part of a general decline in the book industry. According to a 2017 story by Planet Money of NPR, Guinness began to realise that a lucrative new revenue source to replace falling book sales was the would-be record-holders themselves.[48] While any person can theoretically send in a record to be verified for free, the approval process is slow. Would-be record breakers that paid fees ranging from US$12,000 to US$500,000 would be given advisors, adjudicators, help in finding good records to break as well as suggestions for how to do it, prompt service, and so on. In particular, corporations and celebrities seeking a publicity stunt to launch a new product or draw attention to themselves began to hire Guinness World Records, paying them for finding a record to break or to create a new category just for them.[48] Since 2008, Guinness World Records has orientated its business model toward inventing new world records as publicity stunts for companies and individuals, which has attracted criticism.[49][48][50] CriticismGuinness World Records was criticised by television talk show host John Oliver on the program Last Week Tonight with John Oliver in August 2019.[51][52] Oliver pointed serious criticism at Guinness for taking money from authoritarian governments for pointless vanity projects as it related to the main focus of his story, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow.[51] Oliver asked for Guinness to work with Last Week Tonight to adjudicate a record for "Largest cake featuring a picture of someone falling off a horse," but according to Oliver, the offer did not work out after Guinness insisted on a non-disparagement clause. Guinness World Records denied the accusations and stated that they declined Oliver's offer to participate because "it was merely an opportunity to mock one of our record-holders," and that Oliver did not specifically request the record for the largest marble cake.[53] As of 2021, the Guinness World Record for "Largest marble cake" remains with Betty Crocker Middle East, set in Saudi Arabia.[54] Following Oliver's episode, Guinness World Records' ethics were subsequently called into question by human rights groups.[50] Museums Guinness Museum in HollywoodIn 1976, a Guinness Book of World Records museum opened in the Empire State Building. Speed shooter Bob Munden then went on tour promoting The Guinness Book of World Records by performing his record fast draws with a standard weight single-action revolver from a Western movie-type holster. His fastest time for a draw was 0.02 seconds.[55] Among exhibits were life-size statues of the world's tallest man, Robert Wadlow, and world's largest earthworm, an X-ray photo of a sword swallower, repeated lightning strike victim Roy Sullivan's hat complete with lightning holes and a pair of gem-studded golf shoes on sale for $6,500.[56] The museum closed in 1995.[57] In more recent years, the Guinness company has permitted the franchising of small museums with displays based on the book, all currently (as of 2010) located in towns popular with tourists: Tokyo, Copenhagen, San Antonio. There were once Guinness World Records museums and exhibitions at the London Trocadero, Bangalore, San Francisco, Myrtle Beach, Orlando,[58] Atlantic City, New Jersey,[59] and Las Vegas, Nevada.[60] The Orlando museum, which closed in 2002, was branded The Guinness Records Experience;[58] the Hollywood, Niagara Falls, Copenhagen, and Gatlinburg, Tennessee museums also previously featured this branding.[60] Television seriesGuinness World Records has commissioned various television series documenting world record breaking attempts, including: CountryNameNetworkBroadcastHost(s)Arab Worldالعرب في موسوعة جينيسArabs in the Guinness Book of RecordsAl Dar 12021Turki Al OmariGeorge KurdahiAustraliaAustralia's Guinness World RecordsSeven Network2005Grant DenyerShelley CraftAustralia Smashes Guinness World Records2010James KerleyBulgariaСветовните рекорди ГинесbTV2006–2007Krasimir VankovChinaThe day of Guinness in ChinaCCTV2006–2014Wang XuechunZhu XunLin HaiFranceL'émission des records (1999–2002)L'été des records (2001)TF11999–2002Vincent PerrotL'été de tous les records (2003–2005)50 ans, 50 records (2004)France 32003–2005Pierre SledLa nuit des recordsFrance 22006Olivier MinneAdriana KarembeuLe monde des recordsW92008–2010Alexandre DevoiseKarine FerriLes trésors du livre des recordsGulli2015Fauve HautotWilly RovelliGermanyGuinness World Records – Die größten WeltrekordeRTL Television2004–2008Oliver Welke (2004)Oliver Geissen (2005–2008)GreeceGuinness World RecordsMega Channel2009–2011Katerina Stikoudi (2009–2010)Kostas Fragkolias (2009–2010)Giorgos Lianos (2010–2011)IndiaGuinness World Records – Ab India TodegaColors TV2011Preity ZintaShabbir AhluwaliaItalyLo show dei recordCanale 52006 (pilot)2008–201220152022–Barbara d'Urso (1–2)Paola Perego (3)Gerry Scotti (4, 6–8)Teo Mammucari (5)La notte dei recordTV82018Enrico PapiNew ZealandNZ Smashes Guinness World RecordsTV22009Marc EllisPhilippinesGuinness Book of World Records Philippine EditionABC2004Cookie CalabigThe Best Ka!GMA Network2022–Mikael DaezPolandŚwiatowe Rekordy GuinnessaPolsat2009–2011Maciej DowborPortugalGuinness World Records PortugalSIC2014Rita AndradeJoão RicardoSpainEl show de los récordsAntena 32001–2002Mar SauraManu CarreñoMónica MartínezGuinness World RecordsTelecinco2009Carmen AlcaydeLuis Alfonso MuñozSwedenGuinness rekord-TVTV31999–2000Mårten Andersson (1999)Linda Nyberg (1999)Harald Treutiger (2000)Suzanne Sjögren (2000)United KingdomRecord BreakersBBC11972–2001Roy Castle (1972–1993)Norris McWhirter (1972–85)Ross McWhirter (1972–75)Guinness World Records (UK)ITV1999–2001Ian WrightKate CharmanUltimate Guinness World RecordsChallenge2004Jamie RickersGuinness World Records SmashedSky12008–2009Steve JonesKonnie HuqTotally Bonkers Guinness Book of RecordsITV22012–2015Matt EdmondsonOfficially AmazingCBBC2013–2018Ben ShiresUnited StatesThe Guinness GameSyndicated1979–1980Bob HiltonDon GallowayGuinness World Records PrimetimeFox1998–2001Cris CollinsworthMark ThompsonGuinness World Records Unleashed / Gone WildtruTV2013–2014Dan CorteseSpecials: Guinness World Records: 50 Years, 50 Records – on ITV (UK), 11 September 2004With the popularity of reality television, Guinness World Records began to market itself as the originator of the television genre, with slogans such as "we wrote the book on Reality TV". Suresh Joachim Arulanantham is an Indian Canadian film actor and producer and multiple-Guinness World Record holder who has broken over 50 world records set in several countries in attempts to benefit the underprivileged children around the world. Some world record attempts are more unusual than others: he is pictured here minutes away from breaking the ironing world record at 2 days, 7 hours and 5 minutes, at Shoppers World, Brampton.Gamer's editionNot to be confused with Guinness World Records: The Videogame.In 2008, Guinness World Records released its gamer's edition, a branch that keeps records for popular video game high scores, codes and feats in association with Twin Galaxies. The Gamer's Edition contains 258 pages, over 1,236 video game related world records and four interviews including one with Twin Galaxies founder Walter Day. The most recent edition is the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2020, which was released 5 September 2019. The Guinness Book of British Hit SinglesMain article: British Hit Singles & AlbumsThe Guinness Book of British Hit Singles was a music reference book first published in 1977. It was compiled by BBC Radio 1 DJs Paul Gambaccini and Mike Read with brothers Tim Rice and Jonathan Rice. It was the first in a number of music reference books that were to be published by Guinness Publishing with sister publication The Guinness Book of British Hit Albums coming in 1983. After being sold to Hit Entertainment, the data concerning the Official Chart Company's singles and albums charts were combined under the title British Hit Singles & Albums, with Hit Entertainment publishing the book from 2003 to 2006 (under the Guinness World Records brand). After Guinness World Records was sold to The Jim Pattison Group, it was effectively replaced by a series of books published by Ebury Publishing/Random House with the Virgin Book of British Hit Singles first being published in 2007 and with a Hit Albums book following two years later.[61][62][63] Other media and productsBoard gameIn 1975, Parker Brothers marketed a board game, The Guinness Game of World Records, based on the book. Players compete by setting and breaking records for activities such as the longest streak of rolling dice before rolling doubles, stacking plastic pieces, and bouncing a ball off alternating sides of a card, as well as answering trivia questions based on the listings in the Guinness Book of World Records. Video gamesA video game, Guinness World Records: The Videogame, was developed by TT Fusion and released for Nintendo DS, Wii and iOS in November 2008. FilmIn 2012, Warner Bros. announced the development of a live-action film version of Guinness World Records with Daniel Chun as scriptwriter. The film version will apparently use the heroic achievements of record holders as the basis for a narrative that should have global appeal.[64] Aug. 14, 2008— -- INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A woman who grew to be 7 feet, 7 inches talland was recognized as the world's tallest female died Wednesday, afriend said. She was 53. Sandy Allen, who used her height to inspire schoolchildren toaccept those who are different, died at a nursing home in herhometown of Shelbyville, family friend Rita Rose said. The cause of death was not yet known. Allen had beenhospitalized in recent months as she suffered from a recurringblood infection, along with diabetes, breathing troubles and kidneyfailure, Rose said. In London, Guinness World Records spokesman Damian Fieldconfirmed Wednesday that Allen was still listed as the tallestwoman. Some Web sites cite a 7-foot-9 woman from China. Coincidentally, Allen lived in the same nursing home, HeritageHouse Convalescent Center, as 115-year-old Edna Parker, whomGuinness has recognized as the world's oldest person since August2007. Allen said a tumor caused her pituitary gland to produce toomuch growth hormone. She underwent an operation in 1977 to stopfurther growth. But she was proud of her height, Rose said. "She embraced it,"she said. "She used it as a tool to educate people." Allen appeared on television shows and spoke to church andschool groups to bring youngsters her message that it was all rightto be different. After Allen was listed by Guinness as the world's tallest woman,she won a role in Federico Fellini's 1976 film "Casanova,"appearing as "Angelina the Giantess." She was featured in the1981 Canadian documentary "Being Different." She also appeared ina TV movie called "Side Show" in 1981. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said he met Allen twice. "Then, and from a distance, I admired very much the way shehandled a uniquely difficult situation with uncomplaining grace,"he said. Allen weighed 6-1/2 pounds when she was born in June 1955. Bythe age of 10 she had grown to be 6-foot-3, and by age 16 she was7-1. She wrote to Guinness World Records in 1974, saying she wouldlike to get to know someone her own height. "It is needless to say my social life is practically nil andperhaps the publicity from your book may brighten my life," shewrote. The recognition as the world's tallest woman helped Allen accepther height and become less shy, Rose said. "It kind of brought her out of her shell," Rose said. "Shegot to the point where she could joke about it." In the 1980s, she appeared for several years at the GuinnessMuseum of World Records in Niagara Falls, Ontario. "I'll never forget the old Japanese man who couldn't speakEnglish, so he decided to feel for himself if I was real," sherecalled with a chuckle when she moved back to Indiana in 1987. "At Guinness there were days when I felt like I was doing afreak show," she said. "When that feeling came too often, I knewI had to come back home." Difficulty with mobility had forced Allen to curtail her publicspeaking in recent years, Rose said. She had suffered from diabetesand other ailments and used a wheelchair to get around. A scholarship fund has been set up in Allen's name through theBlue River Community Foundation, Rose said, with proceeds going toShelbyville High School. "She loved talking to kids because they would ask more honestquestions," Rose said. "Adults would kind of stand back and stareand not know how to approach her." Ripley's Believe It or Not! is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the Believe It or Not feature proved popular and was later adapted into a wide variety of formats, including radio, television, comic books, a chain of museums and a book series. The Ripley collection includes 20,000 photographs, 30,000 artifacts and more than 100,000 cartoon panels. With 80-plus attractions, the Orlando, Florida-based Ripley Entertainment, Inc., a division of the Jim Pattison Group a Canadian global company with an annual attendance of more than 12 million guests. Ripley Entertainment's publishing and broadcast divisions oversee numerous projects, including the syndicated TV series, the newspaper cartoon panel, books, posters and games. Syndicated feature panelRipley's Believe It or Not!Ripley410112.gifRobert Ripley's Believe It or Not (January 12, 1941).Author(s)Robert Ripley (1919–1949)Paul Frehm (1949–1978)Walter Frehm (1978–1989)Don Wimmer (1989-2004) John Graziano (2004–2021)Kieran Castaño (2021–present)Launch dateDecember 19, 1918Alternate name(s)Champs and Chumps (1918–1919)Syndicate(s)Associated Newspapers (1924–1929)King Features Syndicate (1930–1989)[1]United Feature Syndicate (1989–present)Genre(s)Bizarre factsRipley first called his cartoon feature, originally involving sports feats, Champs and Chumps, and it premiered on December 19, 1918, in The New York Globe. Ripley began adding items unrelated to sports, and in October 1919, he changed the title to Believe It or Not. When the Globe folded in 1923, Ripley moved to the New York Evening Post. In 1924, the panel began being syndicated by Associated Newspapers,[2] (formed as part of a cooperative that had included the Globe). That same year, Ripley hired Norbert Pearlroth as his researcher, and Pearlroth spent the next 52 years of his life in the New York Public Library, working ten hours a day and six days a week in order to find unusual facts for Ripley.[3] Other writers and researchers included Lester Byck. In 1930, Ripley moved to the New York American and was picked up by the King Features Syndicate, being quickly syndicated on an international basis.[4] Ripley died in 1949; those working on the syndicated newspaper panel after his death included Paul Frehm (1938–1978; he became the full-time artist in 1949), and his brother Walter Frehm (1948–1989); Walter worked part-time with his brother Paul and became a full-time Ripley artist from 1978 to 1989. Others who assisted included Clem Gretter (1941–1949), Bob Clarke (1943–1944), Joe Campbell (1946–1956), Art Sloggatt (1971–1975), Carl Dorese, and Stan Randall. Paul Frehm won the National Cartoonists Society's Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award for 1976 for his work on the series. Clarke later created parodies of Believe It or Not! for Mad, as did Wally Wood and Ernie Kovacs, who also did a recurring satire called "Strangely Believe It!" on his TV programs. Other strips and books borrowed the Ripley design and format, such as Ralph Graczak's Our Own Oddities, John Hix's Strange as It Seems, and Gordon Johnston's It Happened in Canada. Don Wimmer took up the panel from 1989-2004.[5] John Graziano from 2005-2021.[6] The current artist is Kieran Castaño and is supported by the Ripley's Research Team.[7] At the peak of its popularity, the syndicated feature was read daily by about 80 million readers, and during the first three weeks of May 1932 alone, Ripley received over two million pieces of fan mail. Dozens of paperback editions reprinting the newspaper panels have been published over the decades. Recent Ripley's Believe It or Not! books containing new material have supplemented illustrations with photographs. Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz's first publication of artwork was published by Ripley. It was a cartoon claiming his dog was "a hunting dog who eats pins, tacks, screws, nails and razor blades".[8] Schulz's dog Spike later became the model for Peanuts' Snoopy.[9] BooksSome notable books: Believe It or Not! by Ripley The Big Little Book (1931)Ripley's Believe It or Not (1929), reprinted in 2004Ripley's Mammoth Book of Believe It or Not (1953)Ripley's Giant Book of Believe It or Not (1976)Ripley's 35th Anniversary Believe It or Not (1954)Ripley's 50th Anniversary Believe It or Not (1968)Ripley's Believe It or Not Special Edition 2012 (2011)A series of paperback books containing annotated sketches from the newspaper feature: Ripley's Believe It or Not 1st Series (1941)Ripley's Believe It or Not 2nd Series (1948)Ripley's Believe It or Not 3rd Series (1954)Ripley's Believe It or Not 34th Series (1982)Ripley Entertainment produces a range of books featuring unusual facts, news stories and photographs. In 2004 Ripley Entertainment founded Ripley Publishing Ltd, based in the United Kingdom, to publish new Believe It or Not titles.[10] The company produces the New York Times bestselling Ripley's Believe It or Not! Annuals, the children's fiction series Ripley's RBI, an educational series called the Ripley's Twists, the Ripley's Believe It or Not! Special Edition in conjunction with Scholastic USA and a number of other titles.[11][12][13] At the height of his popularity Robert Ripley received thousands of letters a day from the public,[14] and Ripley Entertainment continues to encourage submissions from readers who have strange stories and photographs that could be featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not! books and media.[15] The people whose items are featured in such books as Strikingly True have what Edward Meyer, Vice President of Exhibits and Archives at Ripley Entertainment Inc., describes as an obsession: "Whatever it is they're after, it is so important to them that all the rest of the world can go on without them. They want to make something that makes them immortal, makes them a little different than you and me".[16] Despite the wide range of true and unbelievable art, sculpture, photographs, interactive devices, animal oddities, and recycled objects contained within the Ripley's collection, rarely considered are alien or witchcraft-type stories, which are, according to Meyers, difficult to prove. To be included in Ripley's Believe It or Not books, museums, or television shows, items must undergo scrutiny from Ripley's staff and be 100% authenticated.[16] Comic booksIn 1953, Harvey Comics published the first Ripley's Believe It or Not! comic book, titled Ripley's Believe It or Not! Magazine and lasted for four issues until March 1954.[17] From 1965 until 1980, Gold Key Comics published the second Ripley's Believe It or Not! comic book, which lasted for 94 issues.[18] In 2002, Dark Horse Comics published the third Ripley's Believe It or Not! comic book, written by Haden Blackman, which lasted for three issues and was later collected in a trade paperback published by Dark Horse in May 2003, entitled Ripley's Believe It or Not! (ISBN 1-56971-909-8)[19] In 2015, Zenescope published a two issue comic edited by Terry Kavanagh.[20][21] RadioOn April 14, 1930, Ripley brought "Believe It or Not" to radio, the first of several series heard on NBC, CBS and the Mutual Broadcasting System.[22] As noted by the website Ripley On Radio, Ripley's broadcasts varied in length from 15 minutes to 30 minutes and aired in numerous different formats. When Ripley's 1930 debut on The Collier Hour brought a strong listener reaction, he was given a Monday night NBC series beginning April 14, 1930, followed by a 1931–32 series airing twice a week. After his strange stories were dramatized on NBC's Saturday Party, Ripley was the host of The Baker's Broadcast from 1935 to 1937. He was scheduled in several different 1937–38 NBC timeslots and then took to the road with popular remote broadcasts. See America First with Bob Ripley (1938–40) on CBS expanded geographically into See All the Americas, a 1942 program with Latin music. In 1944, he was heard five nights a week on Mutual in shows with an emphasis on World War II. Romance, Rhythm and Ripley aired on CBS in 1945, followed by Pages from Robert L. Ripley's Radio Scrapbook (1947–48). Robert Ripley is known for several radio firsts. He was the first to broadcast nationwide on a radio network from mid-ocean, and he also participated in the first broadcast from Buenos Aires to New York City. Assisted by a corps of translators, he was the first to broadcast to every nation in the world simultaneously.[23] As the years went on, the show became less about oddities and featured guest-driven entertainment such as comedy routines. Sponsors over the course of the program included Pall Mall cigarettes and General Foods. The program ended its successful run in 1948 as Ripley prepared to convert the show format to television. Films, television, Internet, and computer gameThe newspaper feature has been adapted into more than a few films and TV shows. FilmRipley hosted a series of two dozen Believe It or Not! theatrical short films between 1930 and 1932 for Warner Bros. Vitaphone. A 2-DVD release featuring 24 of these theatrical shorts is available in the United States beginning March 16, 2010, from Warner Home Video, through their Warner Archive manufacture-on-demand program.[24] Directors on the shorts included Murray Roth (on the first five), Roy Mack and Alfred J. Goulding (latter half of second season). Leo Donnelly assisted later on commentary.He also appeared in a Vitaphone musical short, Seasons Greetings (1931), with Ruth Etting, Joe Penner, Ted Husing, Thelma White, Ray Collins, and others.Ripley's short films were parodied in a 1939 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon titled Believe It or Else. Released on June 25, 1939, directed by Tex Avery and written by Dave Monahan, it featured a running gag in which Egghead (a prototype Elmer Fudd) appeared to declare, "I don't believe it!" On November 5 of the same year, another Avery documentary parody, Fresh Fish, was released. Written by Jack Miller, this cartoon's running gag was a two-headed fish that kept swimming onto the screen to ask, "Pardon me, but can you tell me where I can find Mister Ripley?"20th Century Fox produced another film short titled Acquitted by the Sea, released on September 27, 1940, produced by Truman Talley and directed by Earl Allvine. This told an unusual story involving the Titanic.Possible filmIn October 2004, Paramount Pictures announced plans for a film that would chronicle the life of Robert Ripley. The film was to be produced by James Jacks and his Alphaville Films company, associated with Paramount. Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski were hired to write the script. Jacks explained: "It's about the exploits of Robert Ripley, one of the most popular newspaper cartoonists in the '30s and '40s, who was well known for going around the world and looking for oddities and getting into adventures while doing so. We want to make a series of movies that, if not quite the truth, are the adventures that should have happened. We want to turn it into an Indiana Jones, a goofy version, as played by Johnny Depp. When they saw we had the writers from Larry Flynt, they thought that we wanted to make the kinky version, but we saw a chance to do a Spielberg-type movie with one of their characters".[25] In November 2005, Tim Burton was attached to direct the film, with Jim Carrey starring as Robert Ripley. Filming was to begin in October 2006, for a 2007 release. Paramount hinted that the film, if successful, could be the start of a Ripley's film series.[26] In addition to Jacks, Sean Daniel and Richard D. Zanuck were to serve as producers for the film.[27] Zanuck spent six weeks in China to scout filming locations for the project.[28] In June 2006, Paramount delayed the start of production on the film for at least a year because its projected budget went over the allowed $150 million. Carrey had waived his entire upfront salary to help keep costs low, but the project remained over budget. Burton and Carrey also wanted to have Alexander and Karaszewski make changes to the film's script to focus more on Ripley's Believe It or Not column. Carrey was adamant on avoiding what happened with his previous project Fun with Dick and Jane, which required reshoots and additional editing as a result of beginning production without a script. Filming had been scheduled to begin in China in November 2006. Although Paramount could have delayed production to spring 2007, the film was delayed further to allow Burton to film Sweeney Todd.[29][30] In December 2006, Burton and Carrey approved writer Steve Oedekerk to rewrite the script. Oedekerk had worked with Carrey on several previous projects. Production was to begin in China in winter 2008, for a 2009 release.[31] Later in January, Zanuck said he was no longer involved with the project, and that he was unaware that it was proceeding.[28] Oedekerk's draft was completed in June 2007, and was approved that month by Paramount, Burton, and Carrey. At that time, Carrey hoped to have production finished by summer 2008.[32] Later that month, Paramount was searching for a new director.[33] In October 2008, Chris Columbus pitched an idea for the film that was approved by Carrey and Paramount. Columbus' idea involved scrapping the previous China-based storyline entirely. Negotiations were underway that month to hire Columbus as director, with plans to hire a writer afterwards. Paramount planned to release the film in 2011, and hoped that it would be the start of a Ripley's film series.[34] In January 2011, Eric Roth was hired to write the script, with Carrey still attached to star. Ken Atchity and Chi-Li Wong joined the project as producers, alongside Jacks and Daniel.[27] TelevisionMain article: List of Ripley's Believe It or Not! television seriesThe first Believe It or Not TV series, a live show hosted by Ripley, premiered on the NBC television network on March 1, 1949. Shortly after the 13th episode, on May 27, Ripley died of a heart attack and several of his friends substituted as host, including future Ripley's Believe It or Not! president Doug Storer. Robert St. John served as host from the second season until the series ended on October 5, 1950.A revival of the original series, titled Ripley's Believe It or Not!, aired from 1982 to 1986 on the ABC television network. Based on three pilots/specials conceived, produced and directed by Ron Lyon and Jack Haley, Jr. (1980–81), the series was a Haley/Lyon/Rastar production in association with Columbia Pictures Television. Featuring film star Jack Palance who hosted the popular series throughout its run, the series had three different co-hosts, who appeared from season to season, initially actress Catherine Shirriff followed by Palance's daughter, Holly Palance, later singer Marie Osmond. The 1980s series reran on the British and American versions of the Sci-Fi Channel during the 1990s; it last aired on NBCUniversal's horror/suspense-themed cable channel Chiller.A Canadian animated series, Ripley's Believe It or Not!, was produced for Fox Family in 1999 by Cinar (now WildBrain), and followed the adventures of "Michael Ripley", Robert Ripley's nephew. The show was aimed at a younger audience, and would often feature Michael going around the world.[35]Another revival, once again titled Ripley's Believe It or Not!, aired from 2000 to 2003, produced by Columbia TriStar Television and shown on TBS. Hosted by actor Dean Cain, executive-produced by Dan Jbara and co-executive-produced by Dennis Lortz, the series took a slightly more sensationalistic approach to its subject matter and "premiered as the highest-rated original series on cable" at that time.[36] The series was canceled in October 2003 after four seasons. Like the previous syndicated live-action series, this latest edition was later aired on The Biography Channel, Chiller and Decades for reruns.In 2006, the Philippines made a local adaptation of Ripley's Believe it or Not! with a local host. ABC 5 (now known as TV5) was the first to make it with Raymond Bagatsing as host. The show however was short-lived.In 2008, GMA Network bought the rights and revived Ripley's Believe It or Not! in the Philippines. This time Chris Tiu of the Ateneo Blue Eagles was chosen as host. It is part of the Bilib Ka Ba? Nights/Araw-araw (Do You Believe? Nights/Daily) programming block of the network which premiered on August 18, 2008, and lasted until September 22, 2010.[37]In 2012, a composite parody of Ripley's Believe It or Not! and Guinness World Records dubbed The Guinness O'Ripley Enormous Book of Curiosities, Oddities, and World Records served as the focus of the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Squirrel Record", in which the title character assists his friend Sandy Cheeks in breaking the records within.Another revival titled Ripley's Believe It or Not!, produced by Texas Crew Productions, with Bruce Campbell as the host, premiered on the Travel Channel in 2019.[38][39]Internet and gamesIn 2006, the Ripleys.com website held a "Dear Mr. Ripley" contest in which contestants submitted "unbelievable" stories and with a public vote selecting a winner. The submissions included stories about a two-faced kitten, a car hurdler, a painting on human flesh canvas, a snake swallowing a golfball, an unopened deck of cards in a thin-necked bottle, a collector of Converse shoes with over 400 pairs, a man who survived a dumptruck falling on him, a painting made of nail polish, a child who played sports while hopping on a pogo stick, and a tongue swallower. The winners were announced on December 15 the same year.In 2003, a Ripley's Believe It or Not! pinball machine was released.[40]The point and click adventure computer game Ripley's Believe It or Not!: The Riddle of Master Lu was published and developed by Sanctuary Woods and released in 1995.Museums This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.Last update: Attractions (August 2014) Ripley's Believe It Or Not museum at Innovative Film City in Bangalore, IndiaWhen Ripley first displayed his collection to the public at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933, it was labeled Ripley's Odditorium and attracted over two million visitors during the run of the fair (in an apparent promotional gimmick, beds were provided in the Odditorium for people who "fainted" daily). That successful exhibition led to trailer shows across the country during the 1930s, and Ripley's collections were exhibited at many major fairs and expositions, including San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas, and Cleveland. In New York City, the famed Times Square exhibit opened in 1939 on Broadway. In 1950, a year after Ripley's death, the first permanent Odditorium opened in St. Augustine, Florida.[41] The Odditorium is housed in the Castle Warden, built in 1888 by an associate of Henry Flagler, President of the Florida East Coast Railway.[42] As of September 2022, there are 28 Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditoriums around the world. Odditoriums, in the spirit of Believe It or Not!, are often more than simple museums cluttered with curiosities. Some include theaters and arcades, such as the ones in Gatlinburg, Tennessee and Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. Others are constructed oddly, such as the Orlando, Florida Odditorium which is built off-level as if the building is sinking. Asia Hong Kong Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditorium in 2004.Alphabetical, by country or district: Shanghai, China (closed) – This Ripley's museum was located at Huangpu River.Victoria Peak, Hong Kong (closed) – There was an Odditorium in The Peak, opened in 1998 and closed on March 20, 2005.Jakarta, Indonesia (closed) – This Ripley's museum, called the "Fun Odditorium", was located in the Pondok Indah Mall complex. It was the largest Ripley's Odditorium in the world (2,000 m2; 22,000 sq ft). It opened on September 28, 1995[43] and closed in the late 1990s.Kuwait City, Kuwait (closed) – This Ripley's museum was located in the Hadiqat Al Sheaab Amusement Park.Genting Highlands, Malaysia – This Ripley's museum was located in the First World Plaza. It reopened as Ripley's Adventureland located on level 4 in SkyAvenue.Mandaluyong, Philippines (closed) – This Ripley's museum was in the Shangri-La Mall in Ortigas.Jeju Island, South Korea (closed) – This Ripley's museum is located at the Jeju Jungmun resort.Pattaya, Thailand – This Ripley's museum is in Royal Garden Plaza in Pattaya. It appears as if an airplane has crashed into it.Dubai, United Arab Emirates – This Ripley's museum is located in Global Village features a mirror maze and a moving 4D theater.EuropeDenmarkCopenhagen – This Ripley's museum is a smaller one located close to the city hall and next to a museum of Hans Christian Andersen.The NetherlandsAmsterdam - The Ripley's Believe It or Not! Amsterdam museum opened on June 23, 2016, at the Dam Square, Dam 21, in a building that belongs to the Heritage of Amsterdam. It has more than 500 exhibits.[citation needed]United Kingdom A Ripley's Believe It or Not! designed Paddington Bear statue in London, one of fifty auctioned for the NSPCCBlackpool – Located at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, this Ripley's museum is based in the popular holiday destination of Blackpool. It was located further north in the 1980s at a location adjacent to Central Pier.[44]Great Yarmouth (closed) – There was an Odditorium in Great Yarmouth on the east coast of England. It opened in 1993 and closed in 1997.[45] It is now an indoor miniature golf course that uses some of the leftovers from the Odditorium as scenery for the holes.London (closed) – This Ripley's museum was the world's largest and it opened on August 20, 2008, at the London Pavilion, 1 Piccadilly Circus, and closed on September 25, 2017. It housed over 500 exhibits. It was famed for its large collection of Marilyn Monroe's personal belongings and interactive exhibits over five floors, including a mirror maze and illusion tunnel.North AmericaCanadaCavendish, Prince Edward Island – This Ripley's museum is located in a concentrated area of tourist attractions adjacent to the Prince Edward Island National Park. A lighthouse (the top broken) features the Ripley's sign. The museum is adjoined to a wax museum and also features a mini-golf attraction. Ripley's BION Niagara FallsNiagara Falls, Ontario – This Ripley's museum is shaped like a toppled over Empire State Building with King Kong standing on top of it. This is the second oldest Ripley's Museum in the world and is one of three in Canada. The museum was closed for major renovations between November 2015 and May 2016. The newly updated museum is the largest and most valuable museum for the company. Located across the street is a Ripley's 4D Moving Theatre, and up the street there is a Louis Tussaud's Wax Works which is owned by Ripley's.Toronto, Ontario – The Ripley's Aquarium of Canada opened in October 2013 next to the CN Tower and Metro Toronto Convention Centre.[46] The 150,000-square-foot (14,000 m2) structure boasts the longest underwater tunnel in North America. The aquarium was originally set to open in Niagara Falls, Ontario, near Great Wolf Lodge in 2007, but relocated to Toronto.[47]MexicoGuadalajara – Opened in 1994,[48] this Ripley's museum is a small one like Mexico City's location. It is near downtown.Mexico City – Opened in 1992, this Ripley's museum is shaped like a medieval castle and has 14 exhibition halls within it. This was the first of three locations to open in Latin America.Veracruz – Opened in 2011, this Ripley museum is small and available in a mall with the associated Veracruz Aquarium and Wax Museum, has 150 figures on display, and features a mirror maze and rotating tunnel.Cancún – Opened in 2021, this Ripley's museum is located in La Isla Mall and features a mirror maze and laser maze.United States St. Augustine, Florida, Odditorium Panama City Beach, Florida, Odditorium Ripley's shark being produced for the Ocean City location.CaliforniaBuena Park (closed) – This Ripley's Museum was located in Buena Park's E-Zone district on Beach Boulevard, close to Knott's Berry Farm. This is the location where Steve Sindad broke the world record for consuming ranch dressing, drinking 61 bottles worth (about 7 gallons). It opened in August 1990 and closed on March 30, 2009.Hollywood – This Ripley's Museum is on Hollywood Boulevard.San Francisco – This Ripley's Museum is located near Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco.FloridaKey West (closed) – Opened on April 15, 1993, in the former Strand Theatre, this Ripley's Museum was located on Duval Street. It then relocated to the former Planet Hollywood building nearby on July 6, 2003. It closed permanently in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Orlando – Opened in July 1992, this museum is located on the busy International Drive tourist corridor, and is built to appear as though it is dropping into a sinkhole.Panama City Beach – Opened in June 2006, this Ripley's Museum is at the intersection of Front Beach Road, Middle Beach Road, and Thomas Drive on Panama City Beach and is designed to look like a 1950s luxury cruise liner that has run aground on the beach. It also has a moving 4D theater.St. Augustine – This is the oldest Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum, located in the Castle Warden. It was purchased shortly after Ripley's death in 1949 and opened in 1950. Before becoming home to his vast collections from his many travels, "The Castle", as it is known, was once a hotel which played host to many famous guests, including Ripley and author/owner Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. It was originally a Moorish Revival style mansion, built in 1887 by millionaire William Warden as a winter home. Its popularity and success led Ripley's associates to open new establishments throughout the United States and the world. Perhaps not surprisingly, it is rumored to be haunted. Segments of the most recent Ripley's TV series were filmed here, including the opening credits. Among the attractions here are a mummified cat, a 1⁄12 scale model of the original Ferris wheel made out of erector sets, life and death masks of famous celebrities (including Abraham Lincoln), and shamanistic apparati from cultures around the world.IllinoisChicago (closed) – Opened on November 21, 1968, the museum was located on Wells Street in the Chicago Old Town area until its closure in 1987.Maryland Ripley's Believe It or Not! in Ocean City, MarylandBaltimore (closed) – This Ripley's Museum opened on June 26, 2012, in the Light Street Pavilion of Harborplace on the Inner Harbor. The museum's entrance featured a sculpture of a sea monster known as Chessie. It was dismantled and closed permanently in May 2020.[49]Ocean City – This Ripley's Museum opened in 2001 and is located on the boardwalk at Wicomico Street. It is a popular destination for tourists and it sits at the entrance to Jolly Roger's Pier Amusement Park. It features a large model of a shark that appears as if it has crashed through the museum.MissouriBranson – This Ripley's museum looks like a stone edifice that was cracked by an earthquake.New JerseyAtlantic City (closed) – The Ripley's museum is on the Boardwalk. It opened in late June 1996. It closed on December 31, 2022.[50]New YorkNew York City (closed) – This location opened in Manhattan on 42nd Street in July 2007. This was the largest Ripley's in the world, housing over 1000 authentic artifacts and interactive exhibits. It closed on November 28, 2021.[51]OregonNewport – This Ripley's museum was funded by Jacob Walters and built in 1986. It is at the Historic Bayfront and one of two amusements known as Mariner Square, the other being Wax Works.South Carolina Odditorium in Myrtle BeachMyrtle Beach – This Ripley's museum looks like a building cracked by a hurricane, located near the center of Myrtle Beach's Ocean Boulevard. It opened in 1976. Also in Myrtle Beach is a 5D Motion Theater, a mirror maze, Ripley's Haunted Adventure, and Ripley's Aquarium of Myrtle Beach.The aquarium, opened in 1997 at Broadway at the Beach, does scientific research and veterinary care for sharks, turtles and other fish but is not always taken seriously because of the Ripley's reputation.[52] TennesseeGatlinburg – The original museum was built in 1970. On July 14, 1992, a fire started from a neon light fixture in a neighboring T-shirt shop. It quickly spread and engulfed a total of twelve businesses in one city block and damaged almost every building along the main street. From that Tuesday night to Wednesday morning, firefighters managed to get the situation under control, but the Ripley's Odditorium was one of the twelve to be completely consumed. Some of Ripley's most prized and unique possessions were lost in the fire, although some artifacts were able to be salvaged. The museum was rebuilt and opened in 1994 with nearly twice the amount of exhibit space, plus a tribute to the city's firefighters included among the collections. Artifacts salvaged from the blaze sport decals saying "I Survived the Fire". As with other Ripley museums, it has an architectural theme by looking as if it has survived a major earthquake, with interior and exterior feature cracks throughout. The Ripley's Company has since opened several other attractions in the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge area, including a "four-dimensional" theater, a state-of-the-art aquarium, a haunted factory, several arcades, two miniature golf courses, and a mirror maze, all of which carry the Ripley's brand name and logo.[53]TexasGrand Prairie – This Ripley's Museum is located at 601 East Safari Parkway in Grand Prairie, Texas. It is west of downtown Dallas on IH-30 and is on the northwest intersection of Belt Line Road and IH-30, 7 miles (11 km) east of Six Flags Over Texas.San Antonio – This Ripley's Museum is located across from the historic Alamo. Next door is Louis Tussaud's Waxworks, and just a short walk down the road is Ripley's Haunted Adventure.VirginiaWilliamsburg – This Ripley's Museum opened in 2006. It has 11 galleries and over 350 exhibits. There is also a 4D theater that shows 3D movies with added effects (air, water, scent, etc.).WisconsinWisconsin Dells – This Ripley's Museum franchise is owned by Concept Attractions.[54] The exterior of the museum is designed as a temple with a plane crashed into its side. It feature 3 floors with 11 galleries with illusions and puzzles. It is located on Broadway, the downtown strip of Wisconsin Dells.[55]OceaniaAustraliaGold Coast – This Ripley's museum is located at the popular tourist destination Surfers Paradise. It reopened in the new Soul Centre on January 22, 2010, featuring a band of human oddities playing songs at the entrance.InaccuraciesAuthorities at the company insist that they thoroughly investigate everything and ensure their accuracy before they publish their research. This is emphasized on its television show, where they often say "If you see it on Ripley's, you can bet that it's real". However, two claims[specify] appearing in their books have been dubbed "myths" by the Discovery Channel television show MythBusters. One claim which had previously appeared in Ripley's books, concerning an accidental execution of 1,200 Turkish prisoners ordered under Napoleon Bonaparte, has had its accuracy called into question by Snopes.[56] Ripley's has reported the urban legend of Frank Tower – an individual who was supposed to have survived the sinkings of the RMS Titanic, RMS Empress of Ireland, and RMS Lusitania – as being factual, but this story has been debunked by several sources.[57][58] Ripley's has also repeated the Muhlenberg legend, which claims that German was once one vote short of becoming the official language of the United States.[59] Sandy Allen—the world's tallest woman, according to Guinness World Records—died on Wednesday (August 13) in the Indiana nursing home where she lived, the Associated Press reports. Allen was 53 years old and stood seven feet, seven inches (2.3 meters) tall—a full inch taller than Chinese basketball star Yao Ming. As a child, Allen developed a tumor in her pituitary gland—a pea-size structure at the base of the brain that secretes several hormones that are key to the body's function, including human growth hormone. As a result of the tumor, she developed gigantism—her bones grew excessively, causing, among other things, her prodigious height. With the large proportions came a host of health issues. Although the cause of Allen's death is unknown, she suffered from diabetes, frequent infections, breathing difficulties and kidney failure. She spent much of her later years confined to a wheelchair. After a career largely devoted to educating children about accepting others' differences, she returned to Indiana and eventually lived in Heritage House Convalescent Center in her hometown of Shelbyville. It's the very same nursing home where Guinness's oldest living woman, 115-year-old Edna Parker, resides. ScientificAmerican.com rang up Daniel Kelley, medical director of the Neuro-Endocrine Tumor Center at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., to find out more about Allen's condition. Is gigantism a normal consequence of pituitary gland tumors?I don't know her story at all, but it certainly sounds to me like she was an acromegalic giant. That's the only way it happens--if they had a pituitary tumor. The tumor is making excess growth hormone--it's a growth hormone-secreting adenoma that developed prior to her bone growth stopping, when she was still growing. If someone has excess growth hormone, they become excessively tall and become an acromegalic giant. How common are these pituitary tumors?About one in 20 people will have an abnormality in their pituitary gland…. And based on some recent demographic studies, about one in 1,000 people probably have a symptomatic pituitary adenoma [the tumor Allen had]. So, a subset of those--maybe 10 percent would have acromegaly, but it's hard to know. According to the AP story on her death, Allen said she had her growth surgically stopped in her early 20s. How would doctors do that?She probably had the tumor removed. The standard treatment for someone who has a pituitary tumor is to remove it through endonasal surgery [in which surgeons go through the nose to cut out the tumor]. The goal is remove all the adenoma to protect the normal pituitary gland. The other treatment options for someone with acromegaly or gigantism, as she had, is radiotherapy--radiosurgery or stereotactic radiotherapy—that is, giving focused radiation to the pituitary tumor to avoid damage to surrounding structures. Then the third are medications that block the effects of growth hormone or block the actions of insulin growth factor 1. That's what's called the "second messenger of growth hormone." So, when the growth hormone is released by the pituitary, the liver makes IGF1, and that's how you get the effects of growth hormone--through IGF1. For people with acromegaly, aside from the gigantism, are there other frequent health defects?The problem with acromegaly is really quite severe. It's a benign adenoma 99.9 percent of the time, but it can cause health problems including hypertension [high blood pressure], diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea [when breathing stops during sleep], carpal tunnel syndrome [pain, numbness or a tingling sensation in the hand or fingers]. So people with untreated acromegaly gigantism, in addition to the growth problems, they can have premature death because of the other associated problems. They get organomegaly--so all their organs get big, too--so they have a higher incidence of heart disease. Then you couple that with hypertension and diabetes and you can imagine they don't live very long. newsletter promoSign up for Scientific American’s free newsletters. Sign UpHow old was she when she died?Fifty-three. Is that on the high end?No. Most people who get a growth hormone secreting adenoma are adults. Children or adolescents that get a growth hormone-secreting tumor develop gigantism, in addition to the other problems associated with the excess growth hormone, because their bones have not stopped growing. So, if you take your average adult who gets acromegaly--and say he has sleep apnea and hypertension and diabetes, if it's caught early enough, between three and five years, usually the hypertension and diabetes become easier to control. While a lot of the metabolic changes go away, the bony changes don't. What you'll see in someone with acromegaly is they get what's called frontal bossing [an enlarged forehead], prognathism--their jaw juts out--they get spreading of the teeth, they get enlarged hands and feet. Your height doesn't increase, but your shoe size and ring size goes up. Your tongues gets big; that's why you snore a lot and get sleep apnea. And then your organs get big. She had always said she would never fall in love with a man shorter than she: “I'm an oldfashioned girl,” was Sandy Allen's earnest explanation. Still, when you're over 7 feet 7 inches and the world's tallest woman, a certain flexibility is necessary, and not just for getting through doorways. So this week Miss Allen finally had her chance, with the arrival in this country of Europe's tallest man, an English chap named Chris Greener. Given the fact that people rarely fall in love simply because of comparable stature, neither seemed to approach the occasion with more than a friendly curiosity which was just as well, since the initial encounter left a bit to be desired in the romantic mood department. After all, tender blandishments are a little awkward at a press conference, in front of flashing cameras. Then there was the carnival atmosphere of the boardwalk at the Jersey shore, where Miss Allen is the resident star attraction for the summer at Adie's Fantastic Facts-'n‐Feats in Wildwood, which also sponsored Mr. Greener's trip. The crowds strolling along the boardwalk clotted in astonishment around the towering duo, small children agape or sniggering, their elders whispering, “Are they husband and wife?” and “Brother and sister? “ Misfunctioning of a Gland What they are, in fact, are hapless victims of a similar malfunction of the pituitary gland. Miss Allen's extraordinary growth was halted only two years ago with the surgical removal of the tumor that for 20 years had caused her body to produce between 200 and 1,000 times the normal amount of growth hormones. Mr. Greener's tumor was treated with radiation therapy, which finally fixed his height at 7 feet 6% inches. For the 23‐year‐old Miss Allen the problem had socioeconomic as well as medical roots. She grew up in the little town of Shelbyville, Ind., and was raised by her grandmother, a cleaning woman who didn't have the money to finance a journey to Indianapolis, let alone for the more sophisticated medical care they might have obtained there. And although by age 10 she was already 6 feet 3 inches, a terrified Sandy adamantly refused to submit to treatment; her grandmother didn't insist, and the girl endured a childhood in which people's reactions to her consisted largely of whispers, giggles, shrieks and such labels as the Jolly Green Giant. For Mr. Greener, who is now 34, the problem was somewhat less dramatic; as a child he was considered merely tall and lanky. The son of an accordion exporter in Wallasey, near Liverpool, at 16 he went to work for a shipping company. At the time he was 6 feet 7 inches and still able to ‘shrug off his height, as well as the accompanying nickname Lofty: “I was tall, everyone knew I was tall, and that was that.” Dig deeper into the moment.Special offer: Subscribe for $1 a week for the first year.“I really started getting depressed, very upset after a while,” he concedes nqw. “I really had a thing about what was happening. Eventually I realized I was still growing, and I had a choice of either going out and being seen, or staying in, not getting remarks, and adopting the life of a hermit. I opted to ignore the comments that are made.” Today Mr. Greener is said to be the world's second‐tallest living man, his size bested only by that of a 53‐year‐old Chicagoan whose mobility is restricted by his height of 8 feet 2 inches. The director of an import‐export company in London, Mr. Greener keeps long hours at his job and returns at night to his elderly mother (who is “a staggering 5 feet 6 inches !”). Editors’ Picks A New Kelly Reichardt Movie? These Actors Keep Showing Up A Familiar Face at the Met, Now in His Own Light Will We Call Them Terrorists?Aside from “some elbow‐bending at the old bars,” Chris does not have much of a social life. “That's been a problem,” he admitted. “I'm used to the comments people make, but it took me long enough, and if I take a girl out she's got to deal with it too. It can be embarrassing. I used to ask a lot of girls out when I was at school, but more often than not I got a no, and after a while you get tired of being turned down all the time. I'm quite a shy guy, really.” Played Venetian Giantess As for Miss Allen, until this year she was resigned to a quiet life back home in Shelbyville, where the Guinness world record‐holder worked as secretary for the State Board of Animal Health. There had been brief moments in the limelight, like the amazing days she spent filming the role of a Venetian giantess in the Fellini movie “Casanova.” Her ultimate fantasies revolved around the wild hope of someday being able to afford a house built to her own scale. Miss Allen long ago got used to wearing the clown‐floppy size 22 shoes, the tentlike clothes made to order for her 440‐pound body, the inconveniences of not being able to fit into a movie or an airplane seat, the embarrassment of sitting down in a restaurant and having her chair collapse beneath her. But this spring, when she was offered the summer‐lon4 stint in Wildwood, she decided to take it. Once painfully shy, she has taken to wearing blue eye shadow for her hourly appearance on stage, a dozen times a day, in a routine that begins, “Hi, I'm Sandy Allen, the world's tallest woman!” and ends with a question‐and‐answer period for curious spectators. But she regards it as an opportunity, not exploitation. “If I'd turned it down, I feel like that would be looking a gift horse in the mouth,” she explained. “Secretarial work wasn't that big a thing to give up, and I figure I can always go back to it. It's hard to do this every day, to psych myself up against what people are going to say when I go out there, making fun and so on. But I'm glad for the chance to talk to people, and I appreciate their interest.” Other possibilities have arisen — a part in the next James Bond film, the role of an Amazon in a television movie to be shot in Trinidad — and Miss Allen has decided to do such work “as long as I can make it last. I'm tall, and I'm trying to turn it into something good; how am I going to do that besides exploiting my size? It gets me down sometimes, doing this, but for the most part I'm having fun.” And for the next few days, anyway, there will be the company of Europe's tallest man — only half an inch shorter than she, after all (“I feel smaller!” Miss Allen marveled, standing next to him). Until his visit ends, Chris and Sandy will be able to compare notes on their unique experiences. He grins and looks across at her — for once in his life, without bending his head downward. “I guess we'll just start with, ‘Isn't the weather nice up here? ‘ — and take it from there.” A 7-foot-7 Indiana woman considered the world's tallest female died Wednesday at age 53. Sandy Allen died at the nursing home where she had lived for several years in her central Indiana hometown of Shelbyville, family friend Rita Rose said. Allen had been ill for several months, using a wheelchair because of poor circulation and weak leg muscles, Rose said. Guinness World Records listed Allen as the world's tallest living woman at the time of her death, spokesman Damian Field said. Some Web sites, however, cite a 7-foot-9 woman from China. Allen weighed 6-1/2 pounds when she was born in June 1955. By the age of 10 she had grown to be 6-foot-3, and was 7-1 by the time she was 16. She wrote to Guinness World Records in 1974, saying she would like to get to know someone her own height. "It is needless to say my social life is practically nil and perhaps the publicity from your book may brighten my life," she wrote. She had tumor on her pituitary gland that caused her remarkable growth removed in 1977, Rose said. The recognition as the world's tallest woman helped Allen accept her height and become less shy, Rose said. "It kind of brought her out of her shell," Rose said. "She got to the point where she could joke about it." (AP Photo/Phil Meyers)In this Sept. 2, 1995, file photo, Sandy Allen, poses for a picture with Will Denk, at the library in Shelbyville, Ind.Allen would wear T-shirts printed with phrases such as "The weather up here is fine" or "I'm with shorty," Rose said. Allen worked for a while as a secretary, appeared on numerous television shows and often spoke to church and school groups, letting children know that it was OK to be different. "She loved talking to kids because they would ask more honest questions," Rose said. "Adults would kind of stand back and stare and not know how to approach her." She stopped public speaking in recent years because of mobility issues, said Rose, who recently wrote a book based on Allen's time in high school. Allen had been hospitalized in recent months as she suffered from a recurring blood infection, along with diabetes and breathing troubles, Rose said. Funeral arrangements were pending at Murphy Parks Funeral Services in Shelbyville. Allen lived in the same nursing home as 115-year-old Edna Parker, who Guinness has recognized as the world's oldest person since August 2007. Allen was proud of her height, Rose said. "She embraced it," she said. "She used it as a tool to educate people." Rose is working to set up the Sandy Allen Scholarship Fund, with proceeds going to Shelbyville High School. SHELBYVILLE, Ind. -- Sandy Allen spent her life overcoming the physical and social barriers that came with being the world's tallest woman. Born with a tumor on her pituitary gland, she reached 7 feet, 7 1/4 inches. But on Wednesday, she lost her fight against illness at age 53. Allen died just before 3 a.m. at Heritage House Convalescent Center, where she spent the last few years of her life. She will be buried in a custom-made casket that will occupy four burial plots. Her remarkable height brought her ridicule, financial and health struggles, and unwanted stares, but Allen used her condition to teach others the importance of acceptance. "She always accepted her position in life as God put her here for some reason," said John Kleiman, Allen's longtime friend and former agent. "She was going to do what she could to live that." Allen was born a normal-sized baby in Chicago, but the tumor caused an excessive release of growth hormones, said Rita Rose, another close friend who authored a book on Allen's high school years. Her mother left her for her grandmother to raise, and Allen never knew her father, Rose said. She grew up in Shelbyville, and by age 10, she stood more than 6 feet tall. By the time she started at Shelbyville High School, Allen's height surpassed 7 feet. Her classmates rejected her. "We all had our circles that we ran in," said Jane Shelton, one of Allen's two childhood friends. "She just didn't fit in the circles." Allen graduated and eventually accepted a state job, where her desk had to be lifted on cement blocks so her legs could fit underneath. In 1975, Guinness World Records named her the world's tallest woman. The distinction changed her life. The once-shy woman became accustomed to interacting with the public and making speaking appearances. She learned to make jokes about herself to get others to open up to her. She even donned T-shirts with messages such as "I'm with shorty" to appear more approachable. Her height also made her a celebrity. She appeared in Federico Fellini's "Casanova" and on talk shows including "Oprah" and "The Howard Stern Show." Through speaking engagements at schools and an inspirational video, she used her life testimony to teach kids the importance of being kind to people who are different. Her size, though, posed inconveniences and made her health and financial stability a continual challenge. Allen had to ride in a full-sized van. In hotels, rooms had to have extra-firm mattresses to support her 400-pound frame. There were social obstacles, as well. Allen had offers for dates, but she was choosy about accepting them because many men wanted to date her for the wrong reasons. She never married and never had a serious boyfriend. Though she loved clothes and shoes, her options were limited, especially with a size-22 foot. "She didn't have any choice, so she'd say, 'I'm proud of my height,' but I know she got down about it," Rose said. "She internalized a lot of stuff." Allen's height made it harder for her to take care of herself. She had fought diabetes, low blood pressure and infections over the years. For about the past 10 years, she required the use of a wheelchair. In January, Allen's health again started to decline. She was suffering from kidney and blood infections, said Linda Fox, a friend and caretaker, and in June, Allen was hospitalized. On Tuesday, Rose set up a scholarship for Shelbyville High School students in her friend's honor. Rose remembers clearly what Allen told her when she mentioned the scholarship. "She said, 'Now I can have a legacy about something other than being tall.' " A woman who grew to be seven feet, seven inches tall and was recognized as the world's tallest female died early Wednesday, a friend said. Sandy Allen was 53. Allen, who used her height to inspire schoolchildren to accept those who are different, died at a nursing home in her hometown of Shelbyville, Ind., family friend Rita Rose said. The cause of death was not yet known. Allen had been hospitalized in recent months as she suffered from a recurring blood infection, along with diabetes, breathing troubles and kidney failure, Rose said. In London, Guinness World Records spokesman Damian Field confirmed Wednesday that Allen was still listed as the tallest woman. Some websites cite a seven-foot, nine-inch woman from China. Coincidentally, Allen lived in the same nursing home, Heritage House Convalescent Center, as 115-year-old Edna Parker, whom Guinness has recognized as the world's oldest person since August 2007. Allen said a tumour caused her pituitary gland to produce too much growth hormone. She underwent an operation in 1977 to stop further growth. But she was proud of her height, Rose said. "She embraced it," she said. "She used it as a tool to educate people." Allen appeared on television shows and spoke to church and school groups to bring youngsters her message that it was all right to be different. Allen weighed 6½ pounds when she was born in June 1955. By the age of 10, she had grown to be six feet, three inches, and by age 16 she was seven feet, one inch tall. She wrote to Guinness World Records in 1974, saying she would like to get to know someone her own height. 'Out of her shell'"It is needless to say my social life is practically nil and perhaps the publicity from your book may brighten my life," she wrote. The recognition as the world's tallest woman helped Allen accept her height and become less shy, Rose said. "It kind of brought her out of her shell," Rose said. "She got to the point where she could joke about it." In the 1980s, she appeared for several years at the Guinness Museum of World Records in Niagara Falls, Ont. "I'll never forget the old Japanese man who couldn't speak English, so he decided to feel for himself if I was real," she recalled with a chuckle when she moved back to Indiana in 1987. "At Guinness there were days when I felt like I was doing a freak show," she said. "When that feeling came too often, I knew I had to come back home." Difficulty with mobility had forced Allen to curtail her public speaking in recent years, Rose said. She had suffered from diabetes and other ailments and used a wheelchair to get around. Rose is working to set up a scholarship fund in Allen's name, with proceeds going to Shelbyville High School. "She loved talking to kids because they would ask more honest questions," Rose said. "Adults would kind of stand back and stare and not know how to approach her." In 1976, in Shelbyville, Ind., a city of about 20,000 southeast of Indianapolis, a film premiere was held. The picture was Fellini’s Casanova. A highly conceptual Italian art house flick about sexual deviance was not what this audience was used to; the house, nonetheless, was packed. A local was in it, a 21-year-old everyone knew about but whom few knew well. She now sat nervously waiting for it to start, concerned about what her neighbors were going to think of it, of her."For his giant work, he even imported a giantess from America," one news article about the picture had read, a find that had ended director Federico Fellini's, "worldwide search for an amazon." She was credited: "Sandra E. Allen – Giantess." In the film, Casanova, played by Donald Sutherland, first meets the Giantess in a chaotic pub, where she is humiliating men one by one at arm wrestling. A loud thud, and cheers, a loud thud. She is made even more enormous-seeming by the camera’s low angle and the large veil she wears. ADVERTISEMENT ADHe finally approaches, and asks, “Who are you, mythological creature?” Sandy's replies are not her own voice; Fellini dubbed his film in Italian. The woman who voiced Sandy sounded particularly effeminate; Sandy's real voice was deeper, mannish. Intrigued, Casanova follows Sandy to her room, where she is bathed in a large wooden tub by two dwarfs. One catches our voyeur and with a wink, continues to let him watch. The audience never sees anything but Sandy’s milky back. Sandy was a modest girl, a churchgoer. In the darkened theater she grew more and more nervous and eventually rose, and left, though probably not without being noticed. At a little over 7'5", Sandy held the Guinness World Record for being the tallest woman alive, a title she'd received about two years prior. (She was still growing; her eventual record-holding height would be 7'7¼".) On one hand, the title meant she would live a life much more glamorous than those of the other residents of Shelbyville — this premiere was evidence of that. On the other, it meant the divide that existed between her and all other people would only continue to grow. I was a college freshman when a guy remarked that I had the same name as the title of a pop song by the New Zealand band Split Enz called "Hello Sandy Allen." For a strange second I thought someone had written a song about me, but then I googled the title, and caught my first glimpse of its subject. It's a weird moment when you realize you have the exact same name — first, last, middle initial — as the tallest woman alive. I gawked at her. Likewise, Split Enz frontman Neil Finn gawked when he met Sandy backstage at a talk show in 1976. "Hello Sandy Allen / the world's tallest woman" Finn's lyric begins. He goes on to say he felt "uneasy" when he first laid eyes on her and the enormity of the handshake. That sense quickly abated when he saw how optimistic she seemed. "Appearance never held you back," he goes on in the chorus, "Must be when you're number one / You don't have to try so hard." Though on occasion I'd mention in passing that I shared a name with the tallest woman alive, I didn't actually think of Sandy often — until 2008. I saw in the New York Times that she had died and I read about the years she spent in a nursing home even though she was only 53. I read how rare gigantism is, and how it ensured poor health and physical pain on top of the constant ridicule and anguish. The deeper I dug, the more I realized how much more there was to consider than a coincidence of names — and the more I realized how wrong Neil Finn turned out to be. AP Photo/Phil MeyersSandy Allen visits with local children at a library in Shelbyville, Ind., in 1995. ADVERTISEMENT ADSandy Allen was born an average-sized baby. This is how all biographies of her begin. Her mother lived up in Chicago and had problems, drank, and brought Sandy home to Shelbyville soon after she was born, where she was raised by her grandmother, Emma Warfield. Her father was rumored to be a truck driver. "Allen" was the name her mother wrote on Sandy's birth certificate, Sandy's longtime friend Rita Rose explains to me, adding she doesn't know if her mother didn't just make it up. Their house was small and its paint peeling. Indoor plumbing had come only years before and didn't always work. Warfield, whom Sandy called "Ma," worked as a housekeeper and was, in Rose's words, "a total sweetheart." Sandy's mother was not. She moved in when Sandy was in junior high, bringing along one of Sandy's several half-siblings, a boy named Michael. As Rose describes it, Sandy's mother was emotionally abusive, especially toward the boy, and an embarrassment to Sandy; especially given that it was a small town, people talked. "She just caused this turmoil in the household," Rose says. Courtesy of Rita RoseSandy Allen's fifth-grade class photo. Meanwhile, Sandy grew. By fifth grade she was 6’3”. By her freshman year she was 7’1”. Her grandmother struggled to keep her clothed and shod. Her 8-foot bed was set up in the dining room. Sandy was very protective of her brother, something of a surrogate parent. She used to call home from school at lunchtime to make sure he was alright.Her peers teased or ignored her. She had few friends. She was tall enough that they saw her only as tall, and then as someone not worth seeing. Coaches at her high school momentarily thought she might be useful on the basketball team but she wasn’t really athletic. Her leg bones had grown so quickly, in fact, she needed surgeries, two of them, just to walk, which she then did with a limp. After graduation she worked as a secretary at an oil company, then at the Indianapolis Bureau of Motor Vehicles, in the abandoned vehicles division. Her third job was as a secretary again, this time in the state veterinary office. It was there, in 1974, that some co-workers, prodding to know how tall she really was, kicked off their pumps and climbed on desks and chairs and dangled a tape measure down. They sent the figure to Guinness, in London, which replied that she was taller than any woman they had on record but the measurement needed to be verified by a medical professional. Sandy got in her car — which was hard-earned, and into which she barely fit — and drove to her family physician, where the figure was confirmed. Her name and picture were printed in the 1976 edition of the book. In an interview with local news soon after its publication, Sandy seems genuinely excited. She wears a teal dress and hangs her white shawl as she enters her office. Her dark hair is boy-short. Though she is extremely tall, she seems almost childish. “Are you sensitive about your height or do you enjoy it?” the reporter asks up at her. “When I was a freshman in high school I used to get a lot of comments about my height, especially from the boys, and that really upset me,” Sandy replies, her square glasses shining. “But now that I’ve gotten to be the World’s Tallest Woman I’m going to take advantage of all the publicity I can get. I’m really enjoying it now. That’s why I feel like if I grow a few more inches, what the heck.” Sandy was asked up to Minneapolis to do a Marriott opening and flew on an airplane for the first time out to Los Angeles, to be interviewed on The David Frost Show. Soon after an agent contacted her about the Fellini film. She’d never heard of the director before, but Sutherland she had. The state veterinary office wasn’t about to let her leave for the several weeks of shooting until the governor intervened and off Sandy went to Italy. Imagine her: a 19-year-old Christian girl of little means in home-sewn enormous clothes, who’d barely left Indiana, let alone America, as she stepped off that plane in Rome. Heads swiveled; bulbs flashed. Sandy, who’d been told by her boss that Italian men liked to pinch “rear ends,” walked through the terminal with her purse behind her. Filming took time; Fellini asked Sandy to stay six weeks rather than the original three. She toured the countryside with the director and his wife, had her first glass of wine, saw Bianca Jagger on set, stayed in Roman Polanski’s mansion, which Sutherland had rented. Fellini and his wife were kind enough to get a limousine for her so she could tour the Vatican, and there, on the cobblestones, soldiers and tourists swarmed her. She was, in some sense, more holy a sight. Everett CollectionADVERTISEMENT ADAfter she returned from Europe she finally went to an endocrinologist. She was in her early twenties and hadn't ceased growing. It was now that she finally heard the word "acromegaly." Acromegaly is a rare condition caused by an excess of growth hormone, often because of a tumor on the pituitary gland. Gigantism is an ever more rare prepuberty onset of the condition. Because patients with acromegaly are adults, meaning they've finished growing, they do not grow taller, but they do get thicker. Their teeth space apart, their hands balloon. Dr. Laurence Katznelson, professor of neurosurgery and of medicine at Stanford University, explains to me what acromegaly “looks like” by mentioning Richard Kiel, who played Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker. His disease, in other words, made him a villain. (“You really have the same name as the person we will discuss?” Katznelson had asked at the beginning of our call.) Courtesy of Rita RoseRita Rose says Sandy had been taken to a specialist as a pre-teen, who explained that she needed brain surgery, but as her family was uninsured, they simply didn't return. Now doctors told her that the tumor, which was near her optic nerve, would eventually cause her to go blind. The surgery capped the then-20-year-old's height at the record 7'7¼". "She had to wear a wig for a year," Rose recalls. Her long friendship with Sandy began around that time; they'd first met when Rose interviewed her for a story she was writing for the Indianapolis Star. Rose laments the fact that Sandy's grandmother and mother didn't just agree to the surgery initially. "If she had the surgery at that time, then she would have been a tall person but a normal tall person." Gigantism does not affect height only. "It affects all organs," Katznelson explains. "It affects the heart. It can affect pancreatic function. Patients often have diabetes. Thyroid can be enlarged so they have goiters.” He lists other what he terms “co-morbidity” factors, including joint problems, sleep apnea, other hormonal deficiencies, depression. Men have low testosterone; women don't menstruate (according to Rose, Sandy never did). He summarizes, “All acromegaly, including gigantism, begets premature mortality.” Sandy’s doctors told her she shouldn’t expect to see her 30th birthday. Courtesy of Rita RoseSandy Allen's senior class portrait. ADVERTISEMENT ADSandy would always have two options: a life lived publicly — one that embraced her title, perhaps attempted to do good with it, but invited judgment — or a private one. Soon after she became aware of how short her life might be, she elected the former. A Scottish promoter named Norman Adie first took Sandy to Australia, where she appeared at several department stores. That summer she did appearances at Adie’s Fantastic Facts and Feats in Wildwood, N.J. Sandy brought along Michael and adopted a dog she called Adie. After two summers there, she decided to take a job at the Guinness Museum in Niagara Falls, Canada. "At that point her family needed money, and she wasn't making it too well on a secretary salary," Rose says. "She could be out on her own and make it for herself. That appealed to her." The 1981 Canadian documentary Being Different shows how Sandy spent her eight years at the museum. She is announced and comes out from behind a curtain. She wears blue eye shadow and pink slacks. Seated, she is still tall. She holds a Superscope microphone into which she begins her very rehearsed-sounding spiel: “Good afternoon, all you short people. How you doing today? My name is Sandy Allen and I’m the tallest living woman in the world.” It’s peppered with tame jokes, many of which she’d repeat throughout her life, in interview after interview. She asks short guys to “eat their hearts out.” She recites her 450-pound weight, “give or take an ounce.” She then opens it up for questions. “Don’t hesitate,” she commands after a pause. “I’ve been asked everything from ‘How is your sex life?’ to ‘How big is your toothbrush?’” The room chortles. One woman asks if she has kids. She replies she doesn’t; Michael is the boy who’s entered alongside her. A man asks whether she eats more than average. “Well, for breakfast this morning I only had three short people, so that’s not too much,” she answers, a little too breezily. “Her shoe size is 22,” the male narrator says as footage rolls of Sandy’s petite grandmother helping her into a jacket. “All her clothes must be custom-made.” The narrator adds that she’s made a choice to be “on exhibition.” ADVERTISEMENT AD“Well, my height is there, why not take advantage of it?” Sandy asks. “I’m proud of my size. I’m not running away from it. I’m doing this in order to show people that I can handle the problems that were presented to me by my size; now, why can’t you handle yours?” And in some respects, it seems this was a proud time for her. She made a decent living, had her own apartment, met a lot of people, doing something relatively easy. The curtain. The spiel. Repetitive questions. Invasive questions. Insulting questions. Stooping for photos. Children with sticky hands. Indifference. Laughter. A dozen or shows a day, eight hours a day, five days a week, for eight years. But the tourists who came — did they really come to have their hearts and minds changed? (Are my motives for investigating Sandy any more pure?) "Basically it was a freak show," Rose says. During her years with Guinness, Sandy traveled to Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Japan twice, and Thailand, where she visited an alligator farm and was kissed by an orangutan. During her second Japan trip, the media found it funny to sew her an extra-large bridal gown and stage a fake wedding between her and her choice of the world’s two largest living men. Though it was just for show — both men were married — they spared no expense. They kept the dress but would send it if she ever requested. She never did. By many accounts she never had a serious relationship. By many accounts she would have been an incredible mom. Sandy eventually could take it no more, and returned to Indiana. She became a secretary in the office of Indianapolis’ Mayor William Hudnut, a job she enjoyed. They outfitted her with an extra-large desk, an extra-large chair. She could type 90 words per minute despite her fingers. Once the Indianapolis Indians visited and had more fun talking with her than they did with the mayor. (She was a big fan of them, and also of the Pacers, who helped her buy shoes.) After, she worked briefly at a sewage treatment plant. By this point her health and mobility were declining and she elected to go on government medical aid. The poverty she’d known as a child would stalk her until her end. A man named John Kleiman, who’d formerly managed fellow Indianan Bobby Helms, most famous for his rendition of “Jingle Bell Rock,” approached Sandy at a parade and asked to be her manager, to which she agreed. In the late '70s and '80s, she'd had scattered talk show appearances, including Oprah. ADVERTISEMENT ADWith his help, she appeared on more shows, including Jerry Springer, whose host dropped his usual sensational antics while she and other Guinness holders appeared. She appeared on Vicki Lawrence alongside the man who could smoke the most cigarettes at once. She was on Montel alongside the world's shortest twins and a man with a bone in his nose. She did Leeza Gibbons alongside the man with the world’s longest mustache, the man with the world’s best memory, the woman who had lost the most weight, the woman who was the most flexible, and an escape artist, who escaped on the show from a washing machine. In the mid-'90s, she twice did Howard Stern. “I have dwarfism of the genitalia,” Howard says, and asks whether her genitalia are normal or proportional. “I believe everything is proportional,” Sandy replies, playing along. He gets her to say she can’t use regular-sized Tampax and that she’s still a virgin. “My moral standards are, I guess by today’s standards, a little old-fashioned,” she admits. “You ever get horny for a man?” he asks. “Of course I’d like male companionship,” Sandy answers with thought. When a caller who’s 6'3" calls in and asks her to have tall children with him, Sandy says she gets asked out all the time by less-than-desirable-seeming gentlemen. Howard’s parting advice to her is that she buy a Hitachi Magic Wand. While Sandy felt Maury Povich was nice, the talk show host who was her favorite was Sally Jessy Raphael. The first show she did for her, “Don’t Stare, I’m Still Human,” featured a woman who had a severe skin disease, a baby who had a mole that covered a third of her body, a baby with a disease that made her pee smell like maple syrup, a man who ate uncontrollably, and a girl who had a disease that affected her muscles and her bones. Sandy enjoyed that such programs encouraged people to understand and sympathize with those who suffered from strange and unusual diseases — and the humiliation, the isolation, the pain therein. When Raphael more or less repeated the program with a different slate of guests, she let Sandy co-host, a first. She did these appearances, and spoke at Tall Clubs — an organization for men taller than 6'4" and women taller than 5'10" — churches, and elementary schools. She did it not for the money (she couldn't make too much and lose her disability): She did it to spread the tolerance of difference. In a Guinness Book television profile of her from the '90s, it shows her as she’s wheeled out before an auditorium of squealing elementary-schoolers. With a hand on a male teacher’s shoulder, she raises herself to her full height and the kids roar. Seated, Sandy talks to them. “The toughest thing for me was when I was growing up because everybody wanted to make fun of me just because I was tall,” she says. “And that didn’t fit in with what everybody else was, regular size.” She called her speech “It’s Okay to Be Different.” She released an inspirational video of the same name, which could be purchased by calling 1-888-BIG-SANDY.She wouldn't have traveled had she not cared so much about her cause: Traveling was extremely difficult for her. As Kleiman explains to me, television producers often didn’t understand the need for a first-class bulkhead seat, the limo or suburban for transportation. If they were traveling for more than two days, she’d need a woman to help her dress and bathe in the hotel room sink. Sometimes a fire department needed to meet her on the tarmac to help hoist her off the plane. And then, of course, were the glares and sighs and stares from PAs, flight attendants, other travelers. Appearances also garnered negative attention in the press. She was slandered in tabloids all the time. This was before the internet or reality television, before social media might have connected Sandy more intimately with her fans, and before the rise of reality television devoted to capturing lives that are somehow different — for better and for worse. "She couldn’t go anywhere without people recognizing her," Kleiman says. Since I've begun researching Sandy, I've been surprised at the number of people who do say they met her once, they saw her once, and where, and what she said to them. She was someone you do not forget. Once, during an appearance at a San Francisco museum, she was approached by a figure in dark sunglasses who revealed himself to be Michael Jackson. He told Sandy he was a fan of hers and mailed her an autographed record. “In the hundred of times we were out in the public, I never saw her be nasty to anyone who came up to say hi to her,” Kleiman says. “She would be eating, and a crowd would gather around and she’d stop eating and sign autographs. “I have never known anyone with a heart like Sandy Allen.” Eddie Shih / AP PhotoADVERTISEMENT ADIn addition to her knees, Sandy had lung troubles early on, and early-onset arthritis. The tumor returned and was again removed. Though her body required a lot of water, going to the bathroom was such a production that she often had urinary problems. She got a bad sinus infection, and a blood one. She had to watch out for falls, for ceiling fans and doorways, for not getting stuck in bathtubs. She walked all day long once at Disney World, and the resulting blister grew so bad she eventually had her big toe amputated, compromising her mobility. The older she grew, the harder it was for her system to recover. The longer she was made to stay in bed, the more bed-ridden she became. “She almost died three or four times,” Kleiman says. He credits God, and the fact that she stayed so active, trying to spread a positive message, for her ability to live so long. “She was the longest-lived giantess in the history of the world!” he exclaims, and there’s something in this phrasing, the majesty of it, that I feel impressed to even be talking to a man who knew her well. But Sandy was depressed. Kleiman seems disappointed to admit this, as if she would let down her fans if they realized that she wasn’t as positive as she outwardly seemed. Kleiman lived just a floor above her. Sometimes, he recalls, she stopped taking care of herself. Sometimes she physically hurt herself. She always hated hospitals, doctors. More than once she’d been brought to the hospital against her will, Kleiman tells me, which involved the need for five or six medical personnel, her legs dangling out an ambulance’s back door. He admits she was admitted to a psychiatric facility at least once as well. He recalls the movie My Giant, one line in particular — “You’ve never seen an old giant, have you?” — and says that affected her greatly. “She would have much rather been normal and not have been noticed by anyone." ADVERTISEMENT ADWhen she could no longer travel, he wrote a book about her called Cast a Giant Shadow, which he self-published in 2001. Half of it is written as her, in the first person; the other half he wrote as himself, giving an outside perspective. He says she didn’t mind this form, that she read what he’d written and approved it, changing, according to him, “about six words.” When I realize this, I’m bothered that the only testimony I would have thought was Sandy herself was instead someone speaking for her. Really, like everything, it’s just an impression of what the outside world thought of Sandy Allen. As her health continued to fail, she went from nursing home to nursing home, eventually ending up in a Shelbyville facility where her grandmother had died some years before. It was also where, coincidentally, the then-World’s Oldest Woman, 115-year-old Edna Parker, lived. (It's said they were friendly.) Sandy had a private room with a television and computer and a closet. "She had everything you could possibly want if you're going to live in one room," Rita Rose says. People would visit her some, but she was frustrated with her circumstances, once so much that she was even caught wheeling down the street, headed down to a local bar. "She just wanted a normal night out with her friends," Rose says, recalling visits in Sandy's room, bringing her cigarettes. In 2008, Rose also penned a book about Sandy's life, a somewhat fictionalized one that focused on Sandy's younger years, called the World's Tallest Woman: The Giantess of Shelbyville High. Sandy had been very sick that summer, and though she'd long been an avid reader, she didn't much have the energy now. Rose drove down to Shelbyville, and picked up a couple of chocolate éclairs from a local bakery and some cartons of milk. "I went to the nursing home and we sat there and ate and I read the entire manuscript to her. It took, like, four and a half hours. I wanted her approval," Rose says, which Sandy apparently gave. "Then two weeks later she died." It was early in the morning, Aug. 13, 2008. Sandy lived to 53. (Edna Parker outlived her by three months.) Rose explains that Sandy had wanted to be buried in a blue nightgown, because her grandmother had also been buried in a blue nightgown, but they couldn't get the one they'd bought to fit her. Instead she was buried in a Pacers jersey, and Pacers earrings too. Her funeral was packed, and the streets, as people bearing signs and flowers tried to get a glimpse of her coffin as it was wheeled by on a wagon. "It was like a parade," Rose says. "It was a great funeral as funerals go." Sandy's mother attended, Rose recalls, on the condition that she not make a scene, which she did not. AP PhotoAllen in 1991. ADVERTISEMENT ADThe Shelbyville graveyard where Sandy is buried is mostly empty the twilight I visit. Sycamores block the view of the factory on the edge of town. I walk what feels like the entire large cemetery’s paved paths before I find her grave. It’s at a far edge, separated by an unpaved path from all the others. Adjacent to a crumbling old barn and a chain-link fence, it is the loneliest grave. And where her specially constructed, extra-large casket was laid into the ground in four adjacent plots, they did not, it seems, attempt to replant the lawn as they have on the other graves; rather there is hard dirt, patches of weeds. In other ways it is the most solitary grave, and the most beautiful. A group of her friends and admirers, who raised the funds for the gravestone after her death, purchased one of an unusual teardrop shape, upon which has been inscribed her name, and mine — Sandra E. Allen — and the phrase “Gentle Giant.” They also purchased a little white bench, so visitors could sit and face her, and the elementary school beyond the fence. Rita Rose tells me Michael once went to school there. I’m struck by how perfectly her grave reflects her life: at once dilapidated, lonely; and yet unique, inviting, nearby to children. What are all those other little graves with their knickknacks compared to this one off here on its own. I sit on the white bench. I look at the expanse of earth before me, trying to picture the enormous woman below. I say, “Hello.”

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