Judge — September 17, 1892 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Unhappy Bicyclist" (Judge, September 17, 1892) This cartoon satirizes the bicycle craze of the 1890s and safety concerns. A well-dressed man riding a "Safety" bicycle—the new design with two equal-sized wheels (versus the dangerous high-wheel penny-farthing)—encounters chaos on a country road to Washington. The bicyclist is beset by hazards: a runaway horse-drawn carriage labeled "Trade," a small dog, and rough road conditions. The ironic caption—"Those blooming idiots called this a Safety!"—mocks the bicycle industry's marketing claims. The cartoon suggests that despite being engineered as "safer" than older designs, bicycles still faced real dangers from traffic, animals, and infrastructure. It's commentary on the gap between advertising promises and practical reality during the bicycle boom era.