Husband-Calling Contest Is a Hit on TikTok

An odd video of a husband-calling contest is going viral on TikTok, with one common question: Is it real? The answer is yes, reports the Des Moines Register. The clip actually dates back to 2017 from the Iowa State Fair, and it shows a group of women going up to a microphone to demonstrate their unique ways of summoning their husbands. The TikTok video had more than 16.5 million views as of Tuesday morning, and it's taken from a longer three-minute video by Iowa PBS. For the record, the winning prize is $5.

"Roy! Royy! Can you hear me? You get yourself in here right now. Come on! You know you're gonna be late again and you know that I want to get there on time." That was 2017 winner Bonnie Swalwell Eilert. A post at LADbible is enthralled with the whole thing, and it notes that the contest is still a thing. In 2022, winner Dawn Mennear took a different tack: "Calling all single men between 40 and 60, I am looking for a husband!" she yelled. "I am single, I work full time, own my own house, I'm lonely. So somebody answer this damn personal. I want a husband now!" (More strange stuff stories.)