Flips and tricks, too-weird-to-be-true stories, and all things strange, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! has come out with the newest issue of its yearly book, titled Wired Into Weird. Within the book, there are features of weird talent from all corners of the world, priding itself on the fact that “truth is still stranger than fiction.”
On Monday, Sept. 7th, representatives of Ripley’s and even some performers from the book gathered for a free event at the ICON Park Lawn in the heart of Orlando to promote their newest book.
At this community day, they offered giveaway prizes, a chance to meet and experience some of the wild stories from their book, and the ability to win a copy of Wired Into Weird before its release the next day, which so happened to be International Literacy Day. The main events were the Dauntless Duo, Princess Etch, Dancing Robot, and Glitch the Robot Dog.
Behind the Scenes of Wired into Weird
Suzanne Smagala is the Senior Manager of Marketing and Communications for Ripley’s and was front and center for this community day.
Smagala has been with Ripley’s for 15 years, starting as a Digital Asset Manager with them after obtaining her master’s in Library and Information Sciences. Over the years, she worked her way up through social media, web development, public relations, and now marketing.
“Every day, it’s something different,” Smagala said. “It’s like the old adage that you’re never working a day in your life if you love what you’re doing, and that’s really what I do here with Ripley’s.”
As Senior Manager of Marketing and Communications for Ripley’s, Smagala has the opportunity to speak with the unusual talent found while creating this book. With a team of researchers who scoured the internet to find these all-new, all-true stories, Smagala is a large part of the team that makes this annual book special every time it comes around.
“When you’re thinking, should I get it this year since I got it last year? The answer is yes, because everything inside is brand-new: 256-pages of all-new, all-true facts, thousands of stories, thousands of pictures,” Smagala said. “We also have a lot of people submit their stories to us that we feature in the book, so that’s a lot of fun, as well.”
Jordie Orlando is the Editor of the Wired Into Weird book. She has been at Ripley’s since 2016 and has worked on each annual publication since book 14. Starting in graphic design and then looking for something more editorial, she found herself at home at Ripley’s.
“The best part is finding out and meeting people who are just doing strange in their own way and aren’t shy about it,” Orlando said. “It’s just so awesome to see people embracing what makes them different.”
The book is full of brightly colored art, magnificent page spreads, and descriptions of all the weird they’ve found throughout 256 pages. It is set up in accessible, bite-sized chunks that anyone would have a good time reading.
“We write the book for younger, reluctant readers; especially in this day and age where it’s so hard to get people off screens,” Orlando said. “You’re not just being fed an algorithm. You’re going to find stuff in there that you wouldn’t have found otherwise… A grandkid can sit down with their grandparent, and they’re both going to have a ball for those pages.”
Featured Performers
With the Dauntless Duo in attendance, there were a multitude of tricks to watch them do. From Jon Dutch walking on stilts to Anngela Burt balancing on the hood of a car using only her head, there were no dull moments when the Duo displayed their talents.
During this free event, people would stop and approach the area whenever they were performing. In their 14 years of working together, they found a shared love for the acrobatic discipline of perch pole, a rare old skill.
“There is only a handful of people who do it in the whole world. We’re the only performing couple that’s doing it in the United States,” Dutch said. “Basically, I’m balancing a 14- to-17-foot pole on my head, and she climbs all the way up to the top, and then executes a variety of Chinese pole tricks, hand balancing, spins; all sorts of manner of circus acrobatics.”
The Duo has been all over the world for many different things, whether it was circus acts with Spiegelworld or the NBA Finals a few years back. However, neither of them grew up in a circus family. Instead, they found their passion and found each other.
“After I graduated high school, I ran away and joined the circus, and it was the best decision I could have possibly made for myself,” Burt said. “I was just feeling very lost in life. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with myself, and it gave me a direction. It gave me ambition. It gave me goals, and not its taken me all over the world.”
Jane Labowitch, who goes by the stage name of Princess Etch, is an absolute anomaly and record find for Ripley’s: she uses her artistic skills on the canvas of an Etch A Sketch, creating realistic, detailed artwork of people, places, and things. For her spread in Wired Into Weird, Labowitch replicated a full-scale skeleton over 11 Etch A Sketches, from eye sockets to joints.
“Princess Etch is an amplified fact of who I am as Jane. She’s the avatar that gets to be the most colorful and fun and bright, and I get to share my love for this esoteric medium with the world,” Labowitch said. “I get to show the world that the impossible is actually possible with enough practice and patience.”
After first picking up an Etch A Sketch when she was four, it seemed she could never quite put it down, and she has been creating art on them for the past 30 years. She’s even figured out how to completely preserve the art by removing the powder inside the Etch A Sketch that covers the art.
This isn’t Labowitch’s first time being featured in a Ripley’s book, however. In Volume 16, entitled Beyond the Bizarre! Princess Etch was featured and promoted as one of the many talents in that also 256-page book. She explained that her first time being featured in Ripley’s book was one of her favorite experiences as Princess Etch.
“They brought me on a whole media tour throughout Canada to help promote my appearance in the book, so that was so special. It was a whirlwind experience,” said Labowitch.
The Weird Continues
Wired into Weird can be found “anywhere where books are sold,” said Smagala. There are plenty more oddities within the book, but Ripley’s can always be visited on International Drive or at ICON Park with their Ripley’s Crazy Golf attraction.