In this collection of very short stories from the early 1960's Ripley’s Believe It or Not!© television series, viewers learn of some unbelievable (and fictitious) stories from history. The first segment, “He Traded A Shadow For A Kingdom” shows a Belgian captain bewilder members of a tribe from the Congo by predicting a lunar eclipse. There are a few shots of animals in the jungle, including a leopard and a water buffalo. In the next segment, viewers watch the reenactment of a game of bowling on the green between King Henry VIII and Nicholas Carew. The third story, “$25 That Bought A Fortune,” tells of an insurance clerk purchasing the Albatross. A ship sinks off the coast (07:23), presumably the Albatross. The Albatross arrives at the harbor loaded with cargo (08:46). The next segment reenacts the meeting of Alexis I and the future mother of Peter the Great, Natalya Naryshkina. There is a shot of Moscow’s Red Square (11:48) and Leningrad (11:59). The next story is about King Umberto I of Italy meeting his double at a café in Italy (15:38). Outside of an inn, men move goods. King Umberto I is assassinated, and the episode shows footage of a large funeral procession (18:18). The final story, “The American Teacher Who Became King” tells the history of Louis Philippe I. A ship sits in the harbor at Nantucket, MA (18:37). An actor playing Sir Isaac Coffin signs off on a school’s endowment. A reenactment shows people storming a French manner during the French revolution in 1790 (19:39). French troops fire muskets in line. A ship sails for America (20:28), then it returns to Europe carrying Louis Philippe I.

Ripley's Believe It or Not! is an American franchise, founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the Believe It or Not feature proved popular and was later adapted into a wide variety of formats, including radio, television, comic books, a chain of museums, and a book series. The Ripley collection includes 20,000 photographs, 30,000 artifacts and more than 100,000 cartoon panels. With 80-plus attractions, the Orlando-based Ripley Entertainment, Inc., a division of the Jim Pattison Group, is a global company with an annual attendance of more than 12 million guests. Ripley Entertainment's publishing and broadcast divisions oversee numerous projects, including the syndicated TV series, the newspaper cartoon panel, books, posters, and games.

The first Believe It or Not TV series, a live show hosted by Ripley, premiered March 1, 1949. Shortly after the 13th episode, on May 27, 1949, Ripley died of a heart attack and several of his friends substituted as host, including future Ripley's Believe It or Not! president Doug Storer. Robert St. John served as host from the second season until the series ended on October 5, 1950.

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