Judge, 1882-12-02 · page 6 of 20
Judge — December 2, 1882 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the **early telephone system's reliability problems**. The main story depicts a man trying to use a telephone transmitter but encountering only buzzing sounds from a bumble bee he'd accidentally placed in the apparatus. Neither party understands the other—the operator becomes exasperated, the caller grows frustrated—until the line goes dead entirely. The joke mocks **the primitive state of telephone technology and communication**, where technical failures and crossed signals were common enough that users couldn't distinguish between mechanical malfunction and actual (albeit nonsensical) transmission. The absurdist humor suggests the telephone system was so unreliable it might as well be run by insects. The bottom panel shows "Mr. Sniff" and "Johnny" attempting outdoor activities ("take a walk"/"take a ride"), likely an unrelated social vignette typical of Judge's mixed-content format. The "Whiffs with Correspondents" section contains reader responses to previous content, suggesting this was an interactive humor magazine.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE JUDGE. WHICH WILL IT Bi reer playeit * The Bumble-Bee and Telephone. 1 liberty with A big bumble bee cam throagh t and placed ina tumbler by th an unwarral day man, and the tumbler place then rung up toh * Hello!” the line ral office and, with the telephone 1 the result ne in response from the Bam, bam, bu “What's that Y m, buzz, I * buzzed the bee in return, and. You'll have to repeat “Tam bazz. whir rr, dd States went the bamb! you bl imbeci Didn't you ever use a te you id 1 operate more frantic buzzing was the only to than sizzling over f, you bull-h he wire, led old fool f , No respons Something's the matter with your blasted old box. man round to-morrow to fix it,” eame from office man, and then a back on the hook, tra patra *cliek,” as he hang Mr. Facranovr says he voted as he fong! ertained that Mr. F. didn’t fight at Iris said that Jay A. Hu We of it. business, anyhow Ithas heen ai 1 will tect We never did like Goo! are lecturing = fier of the transmitter, He } If you hace, you will ay Key 9 Mux turtiams Goopate write + Nus- n't know what poetry about take it tain alte heard te names than that How to “set people by the eara:” Invite them to a huski Wastep—A new play for Mra Li “The American Pocket Book.” Fy. to be called Tur, fast lang Finnish, y to be spoken on this « | | MR. SNIFF STARTS TO TAKE A WALK. JONNNY STARTS TO TAKE A RIDE, WHIFFS WITH CORRESPONDENTS. R. Nowers.—Tur Jepor turns tt down, SN. O.=No t. ‘That game Is played. Anco Aw v4!"—Remember Job,—and be patient, Can't use, Bat don't despair, Try Tae JepGE again, A PEeN"—" Go West, young man, go West; and—don't 1. R.G.—Det on it, by all [tts better to lose than to. nt—Arthar, 43.0, I. —And a tad JOU you bave made of it, too, The thing advice Is unnecessary, quite. If LM. Rowe Ask the waste-p parnal to which sou refer. ANNIE.—Yo: preponderance towards the latter. at verwes ar with a slight Tre an epic. H.C, Re are called and dukes Ist n tts Just it, ‘The United States of America 8 peertew because we haven't any lo} srepes Shakespert < to know the real significance of So rus the worklaway.” For thoroughly rellable a this subject, consult Mr. Jay Gould, Tro, more the be value—which is Of course It ts proper to ir nly comply with your apd, worse coms the Joan of @ strait Boox.-Worw."=It agine for one moment that you yeh, abenrd Information are going to“ w nt of us any Je Sepak cannot px th n't use lead-peneil the ermine. wearer. Your poetry ts very charming, but doesn’t exactly 1 AUDGE. Omer tt to some of people, They have published worse things than yours—though hot often; at least, not very 6 A. Your i deficient tn Know—unless they belong othe memory of the Three sketches just what they appear wo The L m to shiver, @ funereal preeminentis fitted for the funny nument Naker'a Magazine of the Gracetigger's Annual. New Yorenn.” —The nally appeared touching atanza to which you ak wail of a large to in pear Yonkers, of which the factory located on the fa lowing ts a certifed copy We three, Brothers be, leu 1 puss, Jack » And fi ther of not It ts tncladed tn Gris e entitled, “Poets and Poetry of Look and see, afte We cannot inform you w wold" beautiful little vol America." Possibly tt may be THATS AB TAR AS THEY GOT, comicbooks.com