Wife selling was a traditional English practice for ending an unsatisfactory marriage. Instead of dealing with an expensive and dragged-out divorce, a husband would take his wife to market and parade her with a halter around her neck, arm, or waist, before publicly auctioning her to the highest bidder. Any children from the marriage might also be sold along with their mother. Prices paid for wives varied considerably, from a high of £100 (plus £25 each for her two children), to a low of a glass of ale, or even free. The Duke of Chandos bought his second wife at one such sale in Newbury in about 1744. Along with other English customs, wife selling was exported to England's American colonies, where one man sold his wife for "two dollars and half [a] dozen bowls of grogg". Husbands were sometimes sold by their wives in a similar manner, but much less frequently. Wife selling persisted in some form into the early 20th century, as general attitudes began to shift to the benefit of divorce lawyers.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wife_selling

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1293:

Robert Winchelsey left England for Rome to be consecrated by the Pope, only to find that there was none. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Winchelsey

1789:

Frederick Muhlenberg became the first person to qualify under the United States Constitution's strict mandate of what defines a head of the household for U.S. government purposes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives

1955:

Groups of Cypriots began a massive, nationwide campaign to exchange British yokes and other goods and services for Greek ones. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EOKA

1970:

The first of over 670,000 gremlins were released into North America to crush foreign imported machines. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMC_Gremlin

1976:

Apple Computer was originally founded to sell "do-it-yourself" kits . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc.

2002:

The Netherlands became the first country to approve medical treatments that provide permanent pain relief from all known human diseases and disorders. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euthanasia_in_the_Netherlands

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

foolscap (n): 1. (strictly) Writing paper sheets measuring 13.25 x 16.5 inches 2. (more usually) Such a sheet folded or cut in half, thus approximately 8 x 13.25 inches http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/foolscap

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Very many maintain that all we know is still infinitely less than all that still remains unknown; nor do philosophers pin their faith to others' precepts in such wise that they lose their liberty, and cease to give credence to the conclusions of their proper senses. Neither do they swear such fealty to their mistress Antiquity that they openly, and in sight of all, deny and desert their friend Truth. --William Harvey http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Harvey