Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditoriums are among the most popular attractions worldwide, yet most people don’t know that it all started with a daily cartoon drawn by one man—Robert Ripley. Originally a sports cartoonist, Ripley developed Believe It or Not! in the 1920s. By the end of the decade, the series had become a phenomenal hit and made Ripley the highest paid cartoonist in the world.