letters, washed themselves, ate while keeping their feet moving, even had sex under blankets on the dance floor. As the marathon wore on and contestants' stamina withered, they could be forced into footraces, or risk elimination. Competitors used sponsorship to generate extra cash. Local businesses paid these couples a small stipend in exchange for wearing the company’s name as they competed. Marathoners also sold autographed picture postcards of themselves to the fans. The price was usually 10 cents. “Dancingly yours,” many read. The audience stayed for the contest as long as they desired after paying the 25 cents admission fee. During the Great Depression, many Americans dealt with the issue of losing jobs and staying home by watching dance marathons that often lasted for weeks or months. Relatively, the tickets to the event were affordable, and entertaining for them due to it being staged and dramatized which they weren't aware of. The profits for promoters came from the spectators, returning night after night, cash in hand, to follow the action. Marathons were usually somewhat rigged, or at least stacked, toward certain couples. Opposition towards dance marathons At the time of the dance marathon boom, many churches still considered dancing sinful. Social dancing was still scandalous enough for promoters to call dance marathon by the more palatable name of "walkathons." Movie theater owners also objected dance marathons, as dance marathons were a strong business competitor during the Great Depression. As the dance marathon wore on and contestants became exhausted, contestants’ engaged in full body contact rather than more distant social dance positions. This increased the feeling among some that dance marathons were licentious. Some objected for humanitarian reasons. They believed it was wrong to charge money for the dubious privilege of watching people suffer. Extreme fatigue could compromise contestants' mental state and cause they to act out in disturbing ways. Police also believed that marathons attracted an undesirable element to their towns. On April 14, 1923, Homer Morehouse, aged 27, collapsed and died on the dance floor after dancing with his partner for 87 consecutive hours. Soon after the City of Boston banned dance marathons. In 1928, Gladys Lenz danced for 19 straight hours at a Seattle marathon despite being punched in the face by a partner who appeared to be suffering from fatigue-induced psychosis. The couple received $50 for coming fifth while the winning couple waltzed off with $1,000. Lenz