Judge — November 11, 1916 — page 15: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This single-panel cartoon satirizes the early automobile era's obsession with fuel efficiency. Two socialites, Reginald and Elinor, stand amid early motorcars displayed at Madison Square Garden (depicted with its distinctive tower). Reginald brags about his "fine Bluegrass stallion" on exhibition—a valuable thoroughbred horse. Elinor's response treats the horse like a car, asking "how many miles does it give to the gallon?"—a metric used to measure automobile efficiency. The joke mocks how thoroughly automobiles have captured public attention and conversation. Even when discussing a prized horse (representing traditional wealth and status), Elinor reflexively applies automotive terminology, suggesting cars have become so culturally dominant that people evaluate everything through that lens. It's satire on technology's displacement of older values.