Radio station launches "win a wife" competition

It's not often we find ourselves in a deep state of unshakeable depression at the state of the world but after reading this, we're reaching for the whisky.

In Edmonton, Alberta, The Bear 100.3 rock FM station have launched a campaign, unambiguously titled "Win a Wife" where various basement-dwellers fight for the hand of a "lucky" Russian bride. The prize includes a roundtrip airfare to an undisclosed Russian city to meet a potential bride, 13 nights of accommodations and $500 cash, aka buttering up funds.

The fact that it's all being sponsored by "Buck Wild Wednesdays at Oil City Roadhouse" probably explains about as much as you need to know.

Unsurprisingly, the thought of winning a Russian slave/wife hasn't gone down very well with non-Bear listeners. "As a father of two daughters, the whole idea of winning a wife doesn't bode with me well at all," Thomas Lukaszuk, a Progressive Conservative MLA for the local area wrote on Facebook.

In response, the Bear’s brand director Rob Vavrek compared the competition to the reality show The Bachelor.

“The same rigorous selection criteria and principles of mutual consent, respect and freedom of choice for each participant are at the heart of this contest,” Vavrek told the Toronto Star.

The application includes questions such as "Do you fold or scrunch the toilet paper?" and "Describe your worst sexual experience". Case closed.

If you don't plan on sleeping tonight then you can actually see who has entered so far here.

(Image: Rex Features)