Five Maine stories featured in new Ripley’s Believe It or Not! book

The cover from Ripley's Believe It or Not! Unlock the Weird! Courtesy of Ripley Publishing.

The cover from Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Unlock the Weird! Courtesy of Ripley Publishing

Ripley Publishing sent the Bangor Daily News a copy of their newest book Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Unlock the Weird!, published on Sept. 6. Inside, we found five stories about Mainers, all of which we covered.

Center Lovell Inn essay winners say prayers were answered

Ripley’s writes: “Rose and Prince Adams became the new owners of the Center Lovell Inn in Lovell, Maine, by writing a 200-word essay outlining their ambitions. The contest, which attracted thousands of entrants, was organized by previous owner Janice Sage, who herself won the inn in an essay-writing competition in 1993.”

Founder of Dead Poets’ Society visit bards’ graves

Ripley’s writes: “Walter Skold of Freeport, Maine, has traveled thousands of miles across North America visiting more than 500 poets’ graves. He began his cemetery odyssey in 2009, partly inspired by Robin Williams movie Dead Poets Society.”

South Portland woman finds kidney donor in an unusual way

Ripley’s writes: “Christine Royles of South Portland, Maine, finally received the new kidney she had desperately needed by advertising for a donor on the rear windshield of her car. Placed on a transplant waiting list of more than 100,000, she decided to speed things up by scrawling a message on her car: “Looking for someone 2 donate me their kidney! Must be type O blood.” Her appeal was spotted by a complete stranger, Josh Dall-Leighton, during a shopping trip with his family, and three monthslater he successfully donated one of his kidneys to her.”

This beer is brewed with live lobsters and sea salt

Ripley’s writes: “The Oxbow Brewing Company in Newcastle, Maine, has created a new beer flavored with lobsters and sea salt. The lobsters were placed in a mesh bag and suspended in a kettle of boiling wort, the liquid extracted during the brewing process. After being used in the beer, the lobsters were eaten.”

Truck hauling 30,000 pounds of live lobsters crashes on I-95

Ripley’s writes: “A truck containing some 25,000 live lobsters slid off Interstate 95 north of Augusta, Maine, and landed on its side after swerving to avoid another vehicle.Although the truck was beyond repair, its cargo of $300,000 (£194,640) worth of lobsters, which were being transported in seawater from Nova Scotia, Canada, to markets in New Hampshire and Rhode Island, survived! Luckily, they were loaded unharmed onto other trucks and completed their journey.”

Do you know any weird stories that Ripley’s missed? The book, which could be a little disturbing to children, costs $28.95 and is available now.