All you women looking to get pregnant, come on over to Ripley’s in Gatlinburg and rub on the fertility statues! Funny right? Well this is no joke! A pair of mystical 5-foot-tall ebony fertility statues are on display through Aug. 29 at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium.
This all started in 1993 after the statues placed in the lobby of Ripley Entertainment’s headquarters in Orlando, Florida. Since then, according to Ripley’s, more than 2,000 women have said they became pregnant soon after touching the statues. Ripley’s has received numerous calls and has already had two couples make the drive, one from Georgia and one from Orlando just to touch the statues.
The male and female statues were carved in the 1930s by the Baule tribesmen of the Ivory Coast in West Africa. According to tribal legend, to ensure a couple’s fertility, the statues are placed on either side of the doorway leading to a bedroom chamber. If the woman or man touches either of the statues as they enter the room, she will soon get pregnant.
The statues are the all-time most popular Ripley’s museum exhibit and are now on their second three-year world tour. The statues are only on display in Gatlinburg through August 29th, so you better get there before it’s too late!