Charles Dickens dictated the fashion at his funeral, and 29 other strange will requests

Charles Dickens dictated the fashion at his funeral, and 29 other strange will requests
(Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Did you know John Keats' will was just a single line of iambic pentameter? "My chest of books divide amongst my friends," Keats noted.

Our friends at Mental Floss compiled a list of some of the more interesting wills in recent memory. Benjamin Franklin left his daughter a portrait of King Louis XVI that contained 408 diamonds — but he specified that none of the diamonds should be made into jewelry. Charles Dickens, meanwhile, was a dictator from beyond the grave, asking that those who attended his funeral "wear no scarf, black bow, long hat band, or other such revolting absurdity."

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Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.