The Great Stork Derby: Canada’s Bizarre Baby-Making Contest of the 1920s

What happens when a dying millionaire’s prank will turns into a surreal race for motherhood—and a national scandal? In this jaw-dropping episode of Weird History, we dive into The Great Stork Derby, one of history’s strangest legal dramas.

In 1926, eccentric Toronto lawyer Charles Vance Millar left a bombshell in his will: a fortune would go to the woman who bore the most children in the next decade. What followed was a cutthroat competition of fertility, a tabloid frenzy, and a moral firestorm that divided Canada. Was this a darkly comic social experiment—or a grotesque exploitation of women’s lives?

Join us as we unravel:
✨ The twisted mind behind the will—a man who loved pranks, horse racing, and chaos.
✨ The women who raced to out-birth each other—and the shocking tactics they used.
✨ The ethical outrage that gripped newspapers, churches, and politicians.
✨ The legacy of the Derby—how it exposed poverty, sexism, and the limits of the law.

From courtroom battles to midnight diaper counts, The Great Stork Derby is a story of greed, desperation, and the absurdity of human nature. Perfect for fans of true crime, weird history, and societal scandals, this episode will leave you asking: How far would you go for a fortune?

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