London: Does your husband leave his razor lying around the bathroom? Or, for that matter, is he critical of the way you drive? Well, in that case, you didn’t really make a smart choice in choosing your better half, at least that’s what the 1930s Marital Ratings Scale suggests.
On May 15, a test was reported that claimed to show 1930s men whether they had made a wise choice of wife.
It also offered a guide for wives, and suggested that a good husband should be nice to his wife's friends, hold her coat and read the newspaper aloud to her.
The test, written by American academic Dr George W Crane, listed 50 merits and 50 demerits. Each one was worth either one point or five. After answering all questions, the negative points would be subtracted from the positive.
If a man scored between 0 and 24, he was deemed as “very poor (failure)”, whereas if he scored 76 and above, a women had found herself a “very superior” husband.
The first demerit on the list was to stare or flirt with other women while out with his wife – take away five points – and he would lose a point for talking about the “efficiency of stenographer or other women” or writing on the tablecloth with a pencil.
Although some of the criticism is clearly dated, the crimes of leaving shoes in the living room or snoring were as irritating then as now.
But husbands who were good humored in the morning, helped with the dishes and remembered birthdays were – and still would be – greeted with approval.
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