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Podcast: Witness History
Episode: Robert Ripley and the ‘Believe It or Not’ empire
Description: In December 1918, sports writer and cartoonist Robert Ripley was struggling to find some content for his column in the New York Globe.So he compiled and illustrated some of the quirkiest sports facts from the year and created what would go onto become the ‘Believe It or Not’ cartoon.Its popularity grew and, by the time of America’s Great Depression, Ripley was a multi-millionaire who would travel the world on his hunt for more weird and wonderful facts.His empire expanded into radio and, in 1940, he persuaded the Duke of Windsor – who had abdi...