RIPLEYS BELIEVE IT OR NOT!®

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 Ripley's Believe It or Not!® Gears Up for Fourth Season on TBS Superstation, Beginning Jan. 8

January 2003 (Newstream) -- TBS Superstation's popular series Ripley's Believe It or Not!® gears up to enter its fourth season on the network Wednesday, Jan. 8, with more amazing feats, facts and artifacts that stretch the limits of the imagination.

Returning to the show will be host Dean Cain (Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman) and field correspondent Kelly Packard (Baywatch), who spent several weeks this past fall on the Ripley's Road Tour, traveling across the country to report on some truly amazing stunts. Ripley's Believe It or Not!® airs exclusively on TBS Superstation Wednesdays at 9 p.m. (ET)/6 p.m. (PT).

The following are some of the stories included in the season premiere of Ripley's Believe It or Not!®:

• Baby Shaq: Auri Allen of Nashville stands 6 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs more than 300 pounds, and he's only 12 years old. Now, he's ready to meet his hero, NBA star Shaquille O'Neal.
  
  
• Conjoined Twin Sisters: Reba and Lori Shcappell are conjoined twins who are connected at the head. They have managed to live full lives and at the age of 42, Reba is pursuing a singing career. Lori was a hospital worker, but left her job to support her sister's passion for singing.
  
  
• Cockroach Mouth: Kelly Packard goes on the road for the Ripley's Road Tour, where she discovers a man who stuffs cockroaches into his mouth. John LaMedica puts nine poisonous Madagascar cockroaches into his mouth to set a new world's record.
  
• Speed Stacking: Speed stacking is a unique competition in which kids race to stack plastic cups in just seconds using 40 different motions. Fifteen-year-old Emily Fox holds the world record for speed stacking in less than 8 seconds.
  
  
• Hair Hunger: A teenager chewed on her hair since she was a child, accumulating a mass in her stomach that weighed 3 1/4 pounds and had to be surgically removed.
  
  
• Surfing Cat: Sweetie the cat surfs with her owners in Hawaii.
  
  
• Bikini Cards: The latest trend in trading cards features models like Traci Bingham dressed in their favorite sports garb. Some cards have already risen in value to more than $15.

Executive-produced by Dan Jbara, Ripley's Believe It or Not!® is produced by Sony Pictures Television (SPT), one of the television industry's leading content providers, in association with Dean Cain's production company, Angry Dragon Entertainment. SPT produces and distributes award-winning programming in every genre, including series, movies and family entertainment for network and cable television; first-run syndicated series; off-network syndicated programs; and theatrical releases. SPT (www.sonypicturestelevision.com) is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company.

TBS Superstation, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.'s flagship entertainment network, is basic cable's #1 network among key adult demos and cable's most-watched network, a position it has held for 26 consecutive years. Reaching more than 88 million households, the Superstation offers viewers a wide mix of programming, including action-packed original movies, groundbreaking original series, hosted movie franchises, world broadcast premieres, popular sitcoms, Atlanta Braves baseball and college football. The Superstation's web site is located at TBSsuperstation.com.