First seen in 1923 as a daily feature in the New York Globe, a cartoon by Robert L. Ripley (1893–1949) brought the phrase "Believe it or not!" into the common language. Ripley's cartoon depictions of amazing oddities, exotic rarities, and outrageous feats rapidly gained popularity as more and more readers, first in New York, then around the country and around the world, eagerly flipped through their papers searching for the latest Ripley's Believe It or Not!

Ripley was born in Santa Rosa, California, in 1893 to a working-class family. He was a promising baseball (see entry under 1900s—Sports and Games in volume 1) player, who rose through the semiprofessional league and seemed to have a chance to make the big leagues before an arm injury sidelined his career. However, a childhood talent for cartooning came to his aid and...