Orlando, FL -- This week marks the turning of a page in Ripley's Believe it or Not history: It's the 75th anniversary of the first "Ripley's Believe it or Not" book.

In honor of the anniversary, Ripley's Publishing has released a new book of old and new oddities and an exact replica of the original book published 75 years ago.

Some new oddballs include: David Blaine and his 44 days of isolation and fasting inside a glass box above the river Thames; and a woman in England who is an identical twin who defied odds of 11 million to one by giving birth to identical twins in 1996 and fraternal twins in 2003.

Believe it or not though, Ripley's spokesman Tim O'Brien says Robert Ripley was a weirdo unto himself. For instance, he owned hundreds of cars, but didn't drive.

According to O'Brien, Ripley also never talked on the phone longer than he had to because he feared being electrocuted.

Finally, O'Brien claims Ripley loved Asia so much that upon returning from one trip there he decided to change his name to Rip Lee.

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