Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Hollywood to Host Exhibit of Fertility Statues in May

01. May, 2009 Comments Off

World Famous Cote-d’Ivoire Statues are linked to more than 2,000 pregnancies – So proceed with caution!

HOLLYWOOD, CA. (May 1, 2009) – Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum in Hollywood will host the eighth stop of a three year, multi-city international tour of the world famous Ripley’s Fertility Statues! They will premier in Hollywood on May 2, following crowd-pleasing stops at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditoriums in New York’s Times Square, Grand Prairie, Texas, Williamsburg, Virginia, Orlando, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin and San Francisco.

“PLEASE DON’T TOUCH – UNLESS YOU WANT A BABY!”

Thousands of people have seen the statues while on display in New York City. Some are very serious about touching the statues, believing in their powers to help them conceive. Others want to avoid touching the statues – for the very same reason!

More than 2,000 women have reported they became pregnant shortly after touching the wooden statues. Many of them had been told by doctors they would never be able to conceive! Since the women’s stories became public in 1994, millions have visited the statues.

From May 2 through May 31 the statues will be on display in the lobby of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum in Hollywood, 6780 Hollywood Blvd. Would-be parents are invited to come in and touch them for FREE during regular business hours, 10 a.m. – midnight daily.

The five-foot tall wooden statues were acquired from the Ivory Coast (Cote-d’Ivoire) of West Africa in 1993, and were placed in the lobby of Ripley Entertainment’s corporate headquarters in Orlando. Within months, 13 women, including staffers and office visitors were pregnant.

Following a December 1995 story in the Wall Street Journal chronicling the phenomenon, the demand to touch them became international news. In the ensuing years, the edifices made three trips around the world, stopping at Believe It or Not! museums, allowing millions easy and free access.

They were retired to the Ripley warehouse in 2001, but due to great demand, they were put on display at the Ripley headquarters in Orlando where they have been seen by hundreds each month who made a special pilgrimage to see and touch the statues.

“For years now, we have been inundated with requests to make these statues available once again at our odditoriums throughout the world,” said Edward Meyer, VP Archives & Exhibits for Ripley Entertainment. “Amazingly, people are still finding out about them and call us wanting an opportunity to come in and touch them. Due to this demand, we have decided to tour them again.”

After Hollywood, the statues will spend several months touring the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! museums in Europe.

Need More Information?

To set up an interview with a mother who touched the statues and became pregnant, please email Tim O’Brien.

For more information, including high resolution images and video, please go to our video archive section.

For more information on the Hollywood Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum, please visit their website.

About Ripley Entertainment Inc.

Ripley Entertainment Inc. keepers of the venerable Ripley’s Believe It or Not! brand, is a global leader in location-based entertainment. More than 13 million guests visit its 68 attractions operating in 12 countries annually. The Orlando-based company also has divisions that oversee publishing, licensing and broadcast operations. Ripley Entertainment is a Jim Pattison Company, the third-largest privately held company in Canada.