Judge — March 5, 1904 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This 1903 comic strip satirizes hotel fire safety procedures through slapstick humor. When a fire alarm sounds at the "Bundome Hotel," chaos erupts as the night clerk mobilizes staff. The joke centers on a guest in room 440,599 who, upon hearing the alarm, misinterprets the emergency—believing he's experiencing internal combustion from alcohol consumption rather than an actual fire. His panicked demand to "fill up this bottle" with water (or presumably a drink) plays on the double meaning of being "on fire." The satire likely mocks both inadequate hotel safety protocols of the era and the intoxicated state of wealthy guests who might ignore genuine danger. "A Burning Shame" references both literal fire and the shameful condition of drunkenness, typical of Judge's moralistic humor criticizing excess and poor public safety standards.