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Scientifictionist, v. 1, issue 6, August-October 1946

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TELL IT TO RIPLEY
by Redd Bogga
For more than a quarter of a century, Robert L. Ripley has made a living out of the w.k. fact that truth is stranger than fiction.  His "Believe It or Not" newspaper cartoons are dedicated to that proposition, and he has written several books according to that scale.  Like Charles Fort, Ripley has ransacked the planet for strange and interesting facts and has collected a formidable omnibus of oddities.  Unlike the Bronx eccentric, however, Ripley hasnot amassed many "incredibilities" which are likely to confound, confuse, or challenge readers of fantascience.
Fort's works are said to average at least one fantasy plot idea per page.  Ripley's book, Believe It or Not! (Pocket Book Edition), probably does not contain a new story germ among its 223 pages.  The bulk of the volume is of four main categories: (1) Truths that debunk legends or superstitions;  (2) reports of freak happenings, unusual achievements, bizarre human customs and eccentricities;  (3) clever anagrams, epigrams, "magic numbers", palidromes, etc.;  (4) Little known historical or scientific facts.  Out of sterile mass emerge relatively few facts of interest to the fantasite, or at least to this reader.
Listed below are some Ripleyisms which interested me for various reasons, personal and scientifical, mostly derived from that pleasurable pastime known as critical analysis.  I have folowed Brazier's example in his "Appraisal of The Great Fog" (Stfist #5) by appending some of the questions and comments that occured to me while reading the book.
"Magdelaine-Charlotte-Jacquetter Renaud of Paris, France, gave birth to a child at the age of nine years.  The baby was normal and was baptized Jean-Louis.Garcon Marchand, the father, died before the birth, 'or he would have been amenable to the full severity of the law,' concluded the official report dated June 30, 1756."  A similar case was reported from Europe or South America only a few years ago, and received much skeptical comment from American medical experts.  Was the recent case ever exposed as a hoax?  Magdelaine's deliverance was by means of Caesarian operation which (it would seem) removes a major objection to the possibility of such a birth. 
"Margaret Krasiowna of Konin, Poland, gave birth to two boys and a girl after reaching the age of 94.  The ;father, her third husband, was past 105.  She died in 1763, aged 108, and he died soon after, at the age of 119.  The children never grew teeth, and had no strength even at maturity to chew solid food.  They were of proper size for their age, but from their very birth their external features bore marks of decrepitude."  The biblical "three score and ten years" is still representative of the average life span of the species.  Even modern science has succeeded merely in increasing average life expectancy, not life span.  Life insurance records reveal scrupulously few centenarians; most alleged centenarians reported in the newspapers are unable to prove their longevity, and the near-legendary centenarians (living 169, 152, 130 years, etc.) of the 1700's and 1800's have been extensively debunked by investigators.  All this makes the Krasiowna case more than incredible.  Parish registers are said to certify to the age of the couple, but even such records can be inaccurate, or more possibly, wrongly interpreted.  However, such a story would hardly have been circulated if the parents had not seemed unusually old, though their ages, as given, may have been exaggerated.  It is possible that, while the Krasiowna woman was far younger than 94, she was older than the age when motherhood ceases to be a probability.
"Charles Charlesworth, born of normal parents in Staffordshire, England in 1829, reached maturity and grew whiskers at the age of four, died of 'old age' at the age of seven.  His appearance was that of an old man."  This condition is known, I believe, as progeria and although rare, it is by no means unique.  What causes this strange contraction of the seven ages of man into seven years?  Is it possible that the case of Mlle. Renaud was caused by this condition?  Is it only a childhood dis
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TELL IT TO RIPLEY by Redd Bogga For more than a quarter of a century, Robert L. Ripley has made a living out of the w.k. fact that truth is stranger than fiction. His "Believe It or Not" newspaper cartoons are dedicated to that proposition, and he has written several books according to that scale. Like Charles Fort, Ripley has ransacked the planet for strange and interesting facts and has collected a formidable omnibus of oddities. Unlike the Bronx eccentric, however, Ripley hasnot amassed many "incredibilities" which are likely to confound, confuse, or challenge readers of fantascience. Fort's works are said to average at least one fantasy plot idea per page. Ripley's book, Believe It or Not! (Pocket Book Edition), probably does not contain a new story germ among its 223 pages. The bulk of the volume is of four main categories: (1) Truths that debunk legends or superstitions; (2) reports of freak happenings, unusual achievements, bizarre human customs and eccentricities; (3) clever anagrams, epigrams, "magic numbers", palidromes, etc.; (4) Little known historical or scientific facts. Out of sterile mass emerge relatively few facts of interest to the fantasite, or at least to this reader. Listed below are some Ripleyisms which interested me for various reasons, personal and scientifical, mostly derived from that pleasurable pastime known as critical analysis. I have folowed Brazier's example in his "Appraisal of The Great Fog" (Stfist #5) by appending some of the questions and comments that occured to me while reading the book. "Magdelaine-Charlotte-Jacquetter Renaud of Paris, France, gave birth to a child at the age of nine years. The baby was normal and was baptized Jean-Louis.Garcon Marchand, the father, died before the birth, 'or he would have been amenable to the full severity of the law,' concluded the official report dated June 30, 1756." A similar case was reported from Europe or South America only a few years ago, and received much skeptical comment from American medical experts. Was the recent case ever exposed as a hoax? Magdelaine's deliverance was by means of Caesarian operation which (it would seem) removes a major objection to the possibility of such a birth. "Margaret Krasiowna of Konin, Poland, gave birth to two boys and a girl after reaching the age of 94. The ;father, her third husband, was past 105. She died in 1763, aged 108, and he died soon after, at the age of 119. The children never grew teeth, and had no strength even at maturity to chew solid food. They were of proper size for their age, but from their very birth their external features bore marks of decrepitude." The biblical "three score and ten years" is still representative of the average life span of the species. Even modern science has succeeded merely in increasing average life expectancy, not life span. Life insurance records reveal scrupulously few centenarians; most alleged centenarians reported in the newspapers are unable to prove their longevity, and the near-legendary centenarians (living 169, 152, 130 years, etc.) of the 1700's and 1800's have been extensively debunked by investigators. All this makes the Krasiowna case more than incredible. Parish registers are said to certify to the age of the couple, but even such records can be inaccurate, or more possibly, wrongly interpreted. However, such a story would hardly have been circulated if the parents had not seemed unusually old, though their ages, as given, may have been exaggerated. It is possible that, while the Krasiowna woman was far younger than 94, she was older than the age when motherhood ceases to be a probability. "Charles Charlesworth, born of normal parents in Staffordshire, England in 1829, reached maturity and grew whiskers at the age of four, died of 'old age' at the age of seven. His appearance was that of an old man." This condition is known, I believe, as progeria and although rare, it is by no means unique. What causes this strange contraction of the seven ages of man into seven years? Is it possible that the case of Mlle. Renaud was caused by this condition? Is it only a childhood dis page 2