In 1905 Des Moines, Iowa, Mrs. Roslie Pohlman went to court with an unusual complaint: her husband would not laugh.
According to her divorce petition, Mrs. Pohlman enjoyed jokes, funny stories, and family conversation around the table. Her husband, John Pohlman, did not. Instead of smiling at her humor or joining in with the children, he allegedly answered with cold stares, sneers, and the cutting remark, “What a set of fools you are.”
For a nervous and sensitive woman, she said, the constant fault-finding and refusal to share even a moment of cheer became unbearable. Judge McHenry apparently agreed…