Ripley’s Believe It or Not in Branson Hosts Fertility Statue Exhibit May 2, 2010

Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium in Branson will host the return of the world-famous Ripley’s Fertility Statues for public viewing from May 3 to May 30.

Please Don’t Touch – Unless You Want a Baby!

More than 2,000 women have reported that they became pregnant shortly after touching the wooden statues. Many of them had been told by doctors they would never be able to conceive.
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!

The five-foot tall wooden statues were acquired from the Ivory Coast 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.

The Real American Idols

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.

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 women routinely made special visits just to see and touch the statues.

“For years, we were inundated with requests to make these statues available once again, so we’ve brought them out of retirement and they are proving to be very popular during this world tour,” said Edward Meyer, VP of Archives & Exhibits for Ripley Entertainment.

The statues are back in the U.S. after wrapping up the European leg of their three-year world tour. They have been seen by thousands of people during crowd-pleasing stops at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! museums in New York’s Times Square, Grand Prairie, Texas, Williamsburg, Virginia, Orlando, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, San Francisco, London, Blackpool, England, St. Augustine, Florida, Newport, Oregon and San Antonio, Texas.

How to Reach Out and Touch the Statues in Branson

The statues will be on display in the lobby of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium in Branson from May 3 through May 30. Would-be parents are invited to come in and touch them for FREE during regular business hours. Museum hours and location:

Open daily from 9:30 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
3326 West Hwy 76
(417) 337-5300

After Branson, the statues will spend several months touring the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditoriums around the U.S. The current schedule is:

Atlantic City, New Jersey: June 4 – June 29
Ocean City, Maryland: July 2 – July 27
Gatlinburg, Tennessee: July 31 – August 29
Niagara Falls, Ontario: September 4 – September 26
Panama City, Florida: October 4 – October 25

To set up an interview with a mother who touched the statues and became pregnant, contact Tim O’Brien at Obrien@ripleys.com.

For more information, including high resolution images and video, please visit www.ripleysnewsroom.com

About Ripley Entertainment Inc.
Ripley Entertainment Inc. (www.ripleys.com), keepers of the venerable Ripley’s Believe It or Not! brand, is a global leader in location-based entertainment, entertaining more than 13 million annually at its 80 attractions in 11 countries. In addition to its 31 Believe It or Not! Odditoriums, the Orlando, Florida-based company has publishing, licensing and broadcast divisions, best-selling books and the popular syndicated cartoon strip, Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, that still runs daily in 42 countries. Ripley Entertainment is a Jim Pattison Company, the third-largest privately held company in Canada.