The Great Stork Derby: Prankster Lawyer’s Last Will and Testament
A month or so back, I came across a hysterical article on Snopes.com about The Great Stork Derby, where a wealthy Toronto lawyer bequeathed his estate to whichever woman gave birth to the most babies in the ten-year period following his death.
His last will and testament exemplified his unusual sense of humor and put to the test his notions about every man having his price. Given Millar’s obvious familiarity with the law, he had to have known what the execution of his will would do to the judicial system he’d long been part of — indeed, that was probably the motivation behind his wacky stipulations. Millar’s death afforded him one last chance to tweak the beard of the legal system, and he took it.
The stipulations in Millar’s will are pretty funny, and the ensuing legal difficulties in determining a “winner” are pretty fascinating.
FYI for those not familiar with the Snopes, it’s a great online reference for urban legends of all sorts. Though the look of the site is… a little dated and may make you wary, their information and research is sound.
I love Snopes for verifying (or disproving) various Internet rumors or web-based urband legends.For all those forwarded emails that you get, where it’s obviously been forwarded a gazillion times and people are urged to “send this to everyone you know,” this is the site to check whether it’s legit or not.
Whether it’s a plea to find puppies a home or a $250 Neiman-Marcus cookie recipe, Snopes does a great job of separating fact from fiction. What I also love is that they’ll post up versions of emails that have been passed around, and oftentimes the one sitting in your Inbox will be a variation of the original.
Snopes is a great little site, and the first place I go if I see something online and I’m not sure whether it’s real or not. Lots of great stories on this site, both true and not so true. And in the case of Charles Vance Millar… a story that’s stranger than fiction.
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