In 1926, Canadian attorney Charles Vance Millar passed away without immediate heirs, leaving behind a fortune and a legal puzzle designed to mock human greed. Clause 9 of his will stipulated that the residue of his estate would be converted to cash ten years after his death and given to the Toronto mother who gave birth to the most children during that decade. Known as the Great Stork Derby, the contest sparked widespread public obsession and intense legal warfare.
As four mothers eventually tied with nine children each, Ontario lawmakers and distant relatives attempted to invalidate the clause on grounds of public policy and legal absurdity. Crucially, the litigation wrestled with the Rule Against Perpetuities, an ancient common law principle dictating that property interests must vest within a life in being plus 21 years. Because Millar specified a precise ten-year window post-mortem, the clause narrowly avoided violating the rule against remoteness of vesting.
Opponents argued the clause encouraged immoral behavior and undermined marriage, but the Supreme Court of Canada ultimately upheld the bequest in 1937, distributing over $750,000 among the winners.