• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • FFS PRODUCTIONS
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
The ‘Husband Calling Contest’ winners are a force to be reckoned with

Home> Community

Published 16:39 13 Jan 2023 GMT

The ‘Husband Calling Contest’ winners are a force to be reckoned with

Yes, this is a real thing.

Ali Condon

Ali Condon

Some people compete in chilli-eating contests, others take part in cheese-rolling competitions - but only a select few are right for Iowa State Fair's Husband Calling Competition.

The women of the midwest are no joke when it comes to yelling, roaring, and shrieking, especially when a prize of... *checks notes* a ribbon and five dollars is at stake. I promise this will be the funniest thing you watch today:

The Husband Calling Contest is a time-honoured tradition at the Iowa State Fair.

In the hopes of getting the coveted first place ribbon (and five dollars), women use lots of different calling methods.

Advert

Some competitors, like our delightful fifth-place contestant in the above 2017 clip, choose to go for a few different names in their call.

"Bob, Bob, Bob, Bob," she starts, before mixing things up with an unexpected: "Hurry, hurry! Robert Dean!"

Others, like 2017 champion Bonnie Swalwell Eilert, opt for a simple, yet effective ear-damaging shriek.

Speaking to PBS about her win, Bonnie said that she had won the contest 'many times', even though her husband Roy wasn't too fond of the idea at first.

The following year, 65-year-old Rose Beauregard was crowned the champion husband caller - a title she had been pining for for years.

Advert

Rose told Radio Iowa after her win that she had been competing in the contest since 2003 in the hopes of one day taking home the trophy - er... five dollars.

The top prize is a ribbon and five dollars.
@_rhinestonecowboy/TikTok

With 15 years of experience, Rose had some tips for any other aspiring husband-callers who are thinking of entering.

For one thing, Rose thinks it helps to have a husband with two syllables in his first name, like her husband Clifford.

Secondly, make sure you get lots of practice in before the big day.

Advert

"I do practice on my husband, but I do more practicing on my grandson and my camping club," she said.

Now that she has won the contest once, Rose is finished calling her husband - at least competitively.

"I just wanted to win one time," she said. "The older I get, the harder it is to take that deep breath."

Last summer, it was 58-year-old Dawn Mennear who took first place - even though she didn't have a husband to call.

Instead, Dawn went for a never-before-seen tactic: calling for a husband.

Advert

Dawn Mennear won the 2022 Husband Calling competition.
WHO13/YouTube

"Calling all single men between 40 and 60, I am looking for a husband," she yelled as part of her entry.

"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!"

If you don't qualify for Iowa's Husband Calling competition, fear not; there are plenty more contests to take part in.

If calling is your thing, there are plenty of options for you, whether it's Mom Calling, Duck Calling, Turkey Calling, or Chicken Calling (each winner gets, you guessed it, five dollars and a ribbon).

Advert

Otherwise, you could take part in the Mother-Daughter Look-A-Like contest, try your hand at competitive grocery work with the Best Bagger contest, or show off those sexy calves with the Mr Legs pageant.

There really is something for everyone.

Featured Image Credit: _rhinestonecowboy/TikTok

Topics: US News, TikTok, Weird, Viral

Ali Condon
Ali Condon

Ali is a journalist for LADbible Group, writing on all things film, music, and entertainment across Tyla, LADbible and UNILAD. You can contact Ali at [email protected].

X

@alicondon

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

8 hours ago
10 hours ago
11 hours ago
a day ago
  • Getty Stock Images
    8 hours ago

    Why 13th floor is completely missing in number of New York buildings

    According to a 2020 study by StreetEasy, only nine percent of New York residential buildings actually label the 13th floor as 13

    Community
  • tiktok/evaneramagic
    10 hours ago

    Man drives through cemetery in Tesla and makes terrifying discovery on dashboard

    It is spooky season after all

    Community
  • Met Office
    11 hours ago

    Man who leaked prison officer sex video says 'there was more' that didn't get out

    A new documentary looks into the circumstances surrounding Linda De Sousa Abreu's case

    Community
  • Michael Brennan/Getty Images
    a day ago

    Haunting simulation shows how doctor managed to steal part of Einstein's brain and carry it around for 50 years

    He claimed he wanted to preserve it for science

    Community
  • What its like to drive a flying car explained as they are going on sale much sooner than you think
  • Trump unveils 'Arc de Trump' to be built in the centre of Washington D.C.
  • Simulation shows what happened during exploding whale incident that is still one of most bizarre spectacles ever recorded
  • Man crossing Pacific Ocean leaves people terrified after screaming into the 'one place on earth no one will hear'