# What "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" book was this in? ("Warships that travelled 5 miles overland!") **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 3, 2019, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ripleys-believe-it-or-not-book-was-this-in-warships-that-travelled-5-miles-overland/828911 "2019-02-03T22:03:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2019, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ripleys-believe-it-or-not-book-was-this-in-warships-that-travelled-5-miles-overland/828911/1 "2019-02-03T22:03:38Z")
Okay, I’m wondering if any other odd fellows can help me out with this one: An old “Ripley’s Believe it or Not!” cartoon that I saw in a collection as a kid features the tale of the Ottoman navy in 1453 portaging 72 warships over land to fight in the siege of Constantinople. [Google Books confirms it’s existence, with a snippet preview available](https://books.google.com/books?id=8uopAQAAMAAJ&q=ripley+%22believe+it+or+not%22+galleons&dq=ripley+%22believe+it+or+not%22+galleons&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjip8C3xqDgAhXGITQIHcudCfoQ6AEILjAB)…but here’s my problem: it claims it’s in the “2nd Series” collection of Ripley’s strips, but it’s missing from both of the book printings that I’ve found so far by that name. (One of them the paperback “2nd Series,” and the other being the paperback “2nd & 4th series” collection) So, would any other Ripley fans happen to be able to tell me where I can find this cartoon, in print? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ripleys-believe-it-or-not-book-was-this-in-warships-that-travelled-5-miles-overland/828911/2 "2019-02-04T01:18:32Z")
You might have better luck asking the cartoonophiles in Caf Society. I asked a mod if your question should be moved there. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ripleys-believe-it-or-not-book-was-this-in-warships-that-travelled-5-miles-overland/828911/3 "2019-02-04T02:29:58Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > You might have better luck asking the cartoonophiles in Caf Society. I asked a mod if your question should be moved there. Ach! Good idea, thank you—my brain needs it’s drain pan cleaned, it seems. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ripleys-believe-it-or-not-book-was-this-in-warships-that-travelled-5-miles-overland/828911/4 "2019-02-04T05:22:26Z")
**Moderator Action** Moving thread from GQ to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ripleys-believe-it-or-not-book-was-this-in-warships-that-travelled-5-miles-overland/828911/5 "2019-02-04T15:55:30Z")
Have you tried the eBooks? > **["Robert Ripley" Book Results on Simon & Schuster](https://www.simonandschuster.com/search/books/_/N-/Ntt-Robert+Ripley)** > > New releases and popular books related to "Robert Ripley" from Simon & Schuster. Are you looking for the 2nd Series of “Pocket Books”? It looks like the original copyright was from 1931 or 1934. The Pocket Book edition was later reprinted with permission from Simon & Schuster, Inc. Some other cartoons in that Pocket Book include: Sunshine Grafton and His Days in Jail Pennsylvania Was Not Settled by the Dutch Your Age, Please? Not One Person in 100,000 Can Pronounce All These Common… Ambidextrously Westminster Abbey Is Not an Abbey The Mystery House Perhaps looking for those other strips can help you find the one you’re after. Here is the full text from the cartoon: > [@](#): > > The **Warships** that traveled 5 miles overland to fight a battle! > A Turkish fleet of 72 Galleons barred from participating in the siege of Istanbul by a great chain across the mouth of the Golden Horn Inlet > Was transported from the Bosporus on the European side of Istanbul to the inlet on the Asiatic side by putting the ships on rollers and **hauling them by hand over a 5-mile slipway constructed of boards greased with sheep fat!** (1451) > That slipway is now a modern street in Istanbul—named Galleon Avenue That’s about as much help as I can be…