Ripley's

Robert L Ripley was one of the most iconic collectors. He travelled around the world visiting 201 countries in 35 years; along the way gathering and collecting unusual, strange and unexpected things. His collections were so big he began opening up "Odditoriums" were he opened up his collections to the public to come and view. He named them "Believe it or not!" and we actually have one here in London. As well as being a collector, he was a cartoonist, author, had a radio show, TV show,  and made 24 short films/documentaries  Today there are now 32 Ripley's Believe it or not! museums in about 10 different countries. 

http://www.ripleys.com/our-story/the-collection/

The weird things we collect - Ripley’s believe it or not! (2015) Available at: http://www.ripleys.com/our-story/the-collection/ (Accessed: 23 November 2015).

"The Ripley exhibit collection represents over 95 years of collecting by Robert Ripley and his corporate heirs.

The foundation of the over 25,000 piece collectionwas gathered and assembled by Ripley himself on his many travels around the world, but our staff today continues to add new pieces to the collection almost daily." 

"Ripley was intrigued with animal oddities, poor creatures dealt strange fates by Mother Nature. He called them “pranks of nature.”

The Ripley collection today includes a horse with three legs, two- headed calves, pigs, rabbits, turtles and kittens. We have albinos, giant snakes and alligators, a whole menagerie of multi-winged and multi-limbed birds, and even a headless chicken!

Ripley was also fascinated by people, especially those with extreme cases of human growth."

"Ripley’s favorite obsession was the Far East. For over twenty-five years he dedicated himself to exploring the ancient cultures of the Orient. In doing so, he gave many Westerners their first glimpse into an exotic world they would never experience firsthand."

"Mr. Ripley was an explorer extraordinaire who traveled the world, collecting artifacts and stories from the remarkable people and places he encountered."