Mississippi: “What do you call a hippie’s wife?”/“Mississippi.”

The state of Mississippi sounds like “Mrs. Hippie.” The pun has been cited in print since at least December 14, 1968, when this was printed in the Pittsburgh (PA) Post-Gazette:
 
“A collegian named Rivers married his hippie dream girl. Yep, she became Mrs. Hippie Rivers!”
 
“Daffy definitions: Mississippi—hippie’s wife” was printed in many newspapers in 1970 and 1971.
 
   
Wikipedia: Mississippi
Mississippi /ˌmɪsɪˈsɪpi/ is a state in the Southern United States, with part of its southern border formed by the Gulf of Mexico. Its western border is formed by the Mississippi River.
 
The state has a population of approximately 3 million. It is the 32nd most extensive and the 32nd most populous of the 50 United States. Located in the center of the state, Jackson is the state capital and largest city, with a population of approximately 175,000 people.
         
14 December 1968, Pittsburgh (PA) Post-Gazette, “Sidelines on Sports” by Al Abrams, pg. 10, col. 1:
“A collegian named Rivers married his hippie dream girl. Yep, she became Mrs. Hippie Rivers!” (Ed: Ouch!)
       
3 August 1969, Huntsville (AL) Times, “Sideshow,” comics pages, col. 4:
MRS. HIPPIE RIBBER
—BARBARA VAN WYCK
ROYAL OAK, MICH.
 
26 December 1970, Omaha (NE) World-Herald, pg. 4, col. 2:
Daffy definitions: Cop on the beat—policeman who plays the drums. Mississippi—hippie’s wife.—Louisville Courier-Journal.
 
24 January 1971, The Sunday Sun (Baltimore, MD), Sun Magazine, pg. 38, col. 1:
Daffy definitions:
Mississippi—hippie’s wife.
 
12 March 1971, The Morning Call (Allentown, PA), “Bumper Sticker,” pg. 51, col. 3:
Mississippi is a hippie’s wife.
   
Google Books
Biggest Riddle Book in the World
By Joseph Rosenbloom
Illustrations by Joyce Behr
New York, NY: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.
1976
Pg. 197:
What do you call a hippie’s wife?
Mississippi (Mrs. Hippie).
 
20 February 2002, Los Angeles (CA) Times, “The Kids’ Reading Room; Jokes & Riddles,” pg. E7:
What do you call a hippie’s wife? Mississippi. (Raquel, 10, Pressman Academy, Los Angeles)
   
Google Books
More Really Silly Jokes
By Cyl Lee
Edina, MN: ABDO Publishing Company
2005
Pg. 18:
What do you call a hippie’s wife?
Mississ-hippie!
 
Twitter
Greg Runyon‏
@GregRunyon
And the “Clean Joke” winner is: What do you call a hippie’s wife? Mississippi!  Ba-dum-tsh.
4:46 PM - 2 Jan 2009
     
Twitter
Ellen DeGeneres‏
@TheEllenShow
What do you call a hippie’s wife? Mississippi #ClassicJokeMonday
12:28 PM - 2 Jul 2012
 
Reddit—Jokes
What do you call a hippie’s wife?
submitted October 29, 2016 by TM3-PO
Mississippi
 
Reddit—Jokes
What do you call a hippie’s wife?
submitted January 1, 2018 by ricekrispies17
Mississippi