Category:
Marriage
Marriage
Sir John Waller looks for a wife
The good news for Sir John Waller (1917-1995) was that he inherited a fortune. The bad news was that in order to inherit the full amount (rather than just the annual interest payments) he had to marry and have a son.This presented a problem since he was homosexual and had no interest in marrying a woman. Nevertheless, he undertook to satisfy the requirements to obtain his inheritance.
In 1964 he proposed to singer Brigitte Bond soon after meeting her. But he subsequently discovered that she was transsexual and couldn't bear him a child. The engagement was called off two months later.
In 1974 he married Anne Eileen Mileham, and she soon got pregnant — but gave birth to a daughter. That didn't satisfy the inheritance requirements, so again, he promptly divorced her. The scuttlebutt is that he wasn't actually the father of the child anyway.
He died without ever having inherited the money.
More info: wikipedia
London Daily Express - Feb 23, 1995
In the video biography of Brigitte Bond below, there's some discussion (beginning at 11 minutes) of her brief engagement to Waller. Besides her association with Waller, Bond is famous for being the inspiration for the Beat Girl logo used by the ska band the Beat.
Posted By: Alex - Mon Nov 25, 2024 -
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Category: Inheritance and Wills, Divorce, Marriage
Monkey Girl Marries Alligator Boy
Posted By: Paul - Mon Sep 09, 2024 -
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Category: Human Marvels, Marriage, 1940s, Circuses, Carnivals, and Other Traveling Shows
Waited Too Long
Birmingham Post Herald - July 31, 1964
Posted By: Alex - Sat Aug 03, 2024 -
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Category: Divorce, Marriage, 1960s
Candidate for Harem
Aug 1964: Marie Miller, a 23-year-old divorcee, announced that in return for $50,000 per year she would be willing to join the harem of Sheik Suleiman el-Haseil who lived in Israel's Negev Desert. She explained that she was responding to a magazine ad apparently placed by the Sheik seeking an American wife.The Sheik responded that he didn't want her in his harem. He explained that he had placed an ad for an American wife back in 1958, but he was no longer interested in one.
Chillicothe Gazette - Aug 18, 1964
In fact, in December 1957 Sheik Suleiman had been reported to be seeking not just any American wife. He was hoping to marry Eleanor Roosevelt (widow of FDR).
Newsweek - Dec 16, 1957
The stress of the media frenzy following Marie Miller's offer seems to have overwhelmed her, and she ended up in the hospital with a bad back. She was also kicked out of her church.
Dayton Daily News - Aug 27, 1964
Sheik Suleiman (right) with reporter Paul McMahon (1961)
But where exactly did Miller get the idea that Sheik Suleiman was seeking an American wife? I think it traces back to a February 1964 article in HQ magazine by Trevor L.M. Maynard, "I Buy Brides for Arab Sheiks." It described Maynard's lucrative business as a finder of western wives for Arab sheiks, including Sheik Suleiman. He claimed to have arranged 117 marriages between young western women and Arab sheiks.
Click to read full article (pdf)
Posted By: Alex - Sat Dec 09, 2023 -
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Category: Marriage, 1960s
The First Woman to Marry a Hologram
Back in 2018 we posted about Akihiko Kondo, a Japanese man who married a hologram. His holographic wife floated inside a desktop device.Now Spanish artist Alicia Framis has announced she'll also be marrying a hologram. Her holographic partner is a life-size, three-dimensional projection powered by AI. His name is AILex.
Whereas Akihiko Kondo married a hologram because, by his own admission, he had trouble forming relationships with flesh-and-blood women, Framis is marrying a hologram as a piece of performance art which she's titled "The First Woman to Marry a Hologram."
She previously lived with a mannequin named Pierre.
More info: ElPais.com, AliciaFramis.com
Posted By: Alex - Thu Dec 07, 2023 -
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Category: Technology, AI, Robots and Other Automatons, Performance Art, Marriage
Electrify Your Wife
In a similar vein to other ads from that era, such as "Recipe for boiled wife" and "Beat your wife tonight (at bowling)."
Life - Dec 12, 1969
Posted By: Alex - Tue Nov 21, 2023 -
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Category: Advertising, Wives, Marriage, 1960s
Bob’s Marriage Repair Kit
Preacher Bob Harrington's guide to a successful marriage, released in 1974. Three years later he got divorced. Info from wikipedia:
Harrington's Ministry ended in 1977 at the height of his popularity, the result of an extramarital affair. He divorced his first wife and was married the second time to Zonnya, then the Executive Vice-president of his organization. The new couple moved to Clearwater, Florida, where Harrington became a successful motivational speaker for automobile dealers, multilevel marketing and real estate in the 1980s and 1990s. This marriage did not last, and in addition to the divorce he suffered bankruptcy.
Posted By: Alex - Sat Oct 14, 2023 -
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Category: Divorce, Marriage, 1970s
Honeymoon attack
Aug 1993: Frannie Snite was convicted of sneaking up behind her new husband as he sat watching the sunset during their honeymoon, then attacking him with a tire iron. Apparently she was hoping to get a life insurance payout. That's gotta be in the running for the worst honeymoon ever.And yet, it seems like there must be more to the story. I don't think her husband (who survived the attack) ever identified her as his attacker. Her 2013 obituary doesn't mention any of this, nor her five-year prison sentence.
More info: Seattle Times
Lancaster New Era - Aug 18, 1993
Posted By: Alex - Sat Sep 09, 2023 -
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Category: Crime, Wives, Marriage, 1990s
Aleck the deluded gander
Details from Life magazine (May 18, 1953):Seven years ago Aleck and his mate were walking down a country road when an auto came speeding along. Aleck escaped but his wife didn't. Their owner picked up the wife's carcass and, with Aleck looking on, put it in an empty oil drum where he cremated it. From that sad day to this Aleck has stuck by that oil drum in the yard, apparently thinking his wife is still inside. He defends the drum against all intruders with vigorous honks, beating of wings and sharp nips of his blunt bill.
I haven't been able to find any info about what became of Aleck after the Life article made him famous. How long did he live? According to google, geese in captivity can sometimes live for as long as 40 years. So Aleck might have been standing guard by that oil drum for many years.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jul 05, 2023 -
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Category: Animals, Husbands, Marriage, 1950s
How to quit your job and get married on $25 a week
The 1940s answer, according to the Forum Cafeteria in St. Louis, was to save money by eating at their restaurant. Based on the menu, it sounds like it was decent food.I don't think you'd ever save money by eating out nowadays, unless you're ordering from the dollar menu at a fast food restaurant.
St. Louis Post Dispatch - May 1, 1941
Posted By: Alex - Wed Jun 07, 2023 -
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Category: Restaurants, Advertising, Marriage, 1940s
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |