The Legend of the African Fertility Statues - Unsolved Mysteries

Please Don't Touch - Unless You Want a Baby! More than 2,000 women have reported that they became pregnant shortly after touching the wooden fertility statues. Many of them had been told by doctors they would never be able to conceive. Some are very serious about touching the statues, believing in their powers to help them conceive. Others want to avoid touching the fertlity statues - for the very same reason! The five-foot tall wooden statues were acquired from the Ivory Coast of West Africa in 1993 and were placed in the lobby of Ripley Entertainment's corporate headquarters in Orlando. Within months, 13 women, including staffers and office visitors were pregnant. A Little History The five foot tall wooden statues were acquired from the Baule people of the Ivory Coast of West Africa and within a year of going on display at Ripley Entertainment’s head office in Orlando, Florida, 13 office staff and visitors became pregnant. The idea of fertility statues appear in a variety of cultures. Fertility statues serve both as a tribute to whatever fertility gods that the locals believe in, as well as often a mystical totem which helps the women of a given tribe to conceive and bear healthy children. These fertility statues may resemble people, or they can look like some particular animal that is associated with fertility in that culture. Archaeological digs have turned up a variety of these sorts of statues, from the Norse goddess Freya riding a boar to the statue of a fat woman found in the ruins of the Tarxien temples on the island of Malta. The idea of fertility statues appear in a variety of cultures. Fertility statues serve both as a tribute to whatever fertility gods that the locals believe in, as well as often a mystical totem which helps the women of a given tribe to conceive and bear healthy children. These fertility statues may resemble people, or they can look like some particular animal that is associated with fertility in that culture. Archaeological digs have turned up a variety of these sorts of statues, from the Norse goddess Freya riding a boar to the statue of a fat woman found in the ruins of the Tarxien temples on the island of Malta. The most famous fertility statues are the ones that are owned by Ripley’s Believe It or Not! These statues are a pair of four-foot high statues, one male and one female, imported from Africa. They have been in the United States since 1995, and are featured at the Ripley’s museum in San Francisco, although they are lent out to other sites from time to time. These particular statues have bee featured numerous times on television, both in the United States and around the world. Stories that surround the statues suggest that even the delivery person who brought the statues to Ripley’s became pregnant after handling them. Ripley’s claims that an employee who was on birth control pills became pregnant when she tripped and bumped into the statues. The most famous fertility statues are the ones that are owned by Ripley’s Believe It or Not! These statues are a pair of four-foot high statues, one male and one female, imported from Africa. They have been in the United States since 1995, and are featured at the Ripley’s museum in San Francisco, although they are lent out to other sites from time to time. These particular statues have bee featured numerous times on television, both in the United States and around the world. Stories that surround the statues suggest that even the delivery person who brought the statues to Ripley’s became pregnant after handling them. Ripley’s claims that an employee who was on birth control pills became pregnant when she tripped and bumped into the statues. While there are some women who become pregnant after rubbing the statues, obviously, there is no medical or scientific evidence to suggest that fertility statues really work. However, when trying to conceive, something like rubbing a fertility statue isn’t exactly harmful. It can help to increase your hope, help to relieve stress, and can even be a little bit fun. Some people who haven’t been able to actually visit fertility statues such as the ones at Ripley’s have send photocopies of their hands or a piece of clothing to be rubbed on the statues. While there are some women who become pregnant after rubbing the statues, obviously, there is no medical or scientific evidence to suggest that fertility statues really work. However, when trying to conceive, something like rubbing a fertility statue isn’t exactly harmful. It can help to increase your hope, help to relieve stress, and can even be a little bit fun. Some people who haven’t been able to actually visit fertility statues such as the ones at Ripley’s have send photocopies of their hands or a piece of clothing to be rubbed on the statues! In 1994, Edward Muier was searching the world for artifacts bizarre enough to add to the Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum. He found fertility statues in a small shop on the Ivory Coast. The shop owner told him that after a village shaman blesses them, the statutes must be turned facing one another. If a woman touches them, she will become pregnant. Muier brought back to his office in Orlando, Florida as a joke, but they soon took on a life of their own. Within a few weeks, a receptionist named Lucy was pregnant after touching the statues. Then Kimberli Martin, an accounting clerk who tried to avoid the statues, accidentally touched one of the statues and soon became pregnant. In thirteen months, thirteen women who came in contact with the statues became pregnant, including three of the ten women in the office. As word began to spread, strangers began coming into the office to touch the statues. Nancy McCaffrey decided to give it a try as well, and soon became pregnant. Edward Muier claims that he has gotten postcards that confirmed nearly a thousand pregnancies. To this day, nobody can explain how the Fertility Statues got their power. Submit News/Videos/Links | Discuss article | Article Link | More Unsolved and Unexplained Mysteries