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Fascinating True Stories From the Flip Side of History

On the Web Since 1994

Podcasting Since January 2008

The Missing Groom

Published on March 24, 2019

Posted in: Love & Marriage, Tidbits

Robert C. Buttolph and Leona Benell were scheduled to be married on March 8 of 1911. He didn't show up and a search began for him.

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The Coal Mountain Casanova – Podcast #120

Published on March 19, 2019

Posted in: Love & Marriage, Money & Financial, Podcast

In 1952, Jesse Garrett had recently divorced and was in search of a new wife. He seemed like a catch and hundreds of women contacted him to let them know that they were interested. In the end, Jesse Garrett was financially ruined.

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Loses Job for Taking Out a Personal Ad

Published on March 25, 2018

Posted in: Love & Marriage, Tidbits

In early August of 1956, 22-year-old Vida Hutto took an ad out in a Houston newspaper seeking a husband. She was seeking a man who was “Fairly handsome, Protestant, dependable, likes to fish and earns at least $400 monthly.”

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Needed a Husband to Pay Off Debt

Published on March 17, 2018

Posted in: Love & Marriage, Tidbits

In January of 1952, Jane Gorden placed an ad in the Montgomery, Alabama Advertiser for a husband to help pay off her $6,000 in debt (approximately $56,000 adjusted for inflation).

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Wife Must Be Of Sound Wind and Limb

Published on March 12, 2018

Posted in: Love & Marriage, Tidbits

Three Lakes, Wisconsin resident 74-year-old Ezra Worden took an ad out in the paper seeking a wife. More than 400 women replied.

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Wife for Sale – Podcast #110

Published on March 2, 2018

Posted in: Forgotten History, Love & Marriage, Podcast

In 1948, Dorothy Lawlor decided to take an ad out in the Newsday newspaper seeking a husband in exchange for $10,000. Within twenty-four hours she became a media sensation. Did she really marry one of these men? The answer may surprise you.

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Her First Husband Was Still Alive

Published on July 30, 2017

Posted in: Love & Marriage, Tidbits

Ann Ross Birdwell learned that her first husband Gene Birdwell was still alive in a Japanese prison camp twelve days after marrying her husband's uncle.

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Sees Dead Husband on Movie Screen

Published on July 21, 2017

Posted in: Love & Marriage, Tidbits

Bobette and Joseph Griffin were only married two weeks when she saw her supposedly dead husband up on the screen while viewing The Great Ziegfeld.

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Thought His First Wife Was Dead

Published on July 14, 2017

Posted in: Love & Marriage, Tidbits

Albert Rudesheim thought his wife Julia Mocska was deceased, so he moved to Denver and married another woman. To his surprise, his first wife was still alive.

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Found Out Who Her Husband Really Was…

Published on October 28, 2016

Posted in: Crime & Punishment, Holidays & Celebrations, Love & Marriage, Tidbits

Halloween 1936: Howard Law of Chicago purchased a box of candy for his wife. He was soon arrested for being an escaped prisoner.

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He Wants His Alimony Back

Published on November 10, 2015

Posted in: Law & Order, Love & Marriage, Money & Financial, Tidbits

Howard Metz paid alimony for thirty years to a woman who would not divorce him. When she died, he claimed title to her estate. Did he get it?

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Cuts Off Mother-in-Law’s Nose

Published on June 3, 2015

Posted in: Crime & Punishment, Love & Marriage, Tidbits

Red Fork, OK resident Jack Van Zandt was arrested in 1931 after getting in an argument with his mother-in-law. He had cut off her nose...

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Oops…Wrong Husband

Published on May 27, 2015

Posted in: Crime & Punishment, Love & Marriage, Tidbits

In 1945, Victor Sammarco was arrested for failure to pay alimony to his ex-wife. He claimed never to have seen her before.

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A Horse Named Wedding Expenses

Published on April 22, 2015

Posted in: Animals & Pets, Love & Marriage, Tidbits

In 1962, a woman called off her wedding because her fiancé had gambled all of their savings on a horse named Wedding Expenses.

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One Too Many Kisses for Opera Star

Published on February 28, 2015

Posted in: Entertainment, Love & Marriage, Tidbits

In 1922 Rafaelo Diaz, a tenor for the Metropolitan Opera was giving kisses to his female fans. This angered one husband and he slugged Diaz.

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