Judge — January 3, 1920 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The 'Used Car' in Dry Times" This satirical comic mocks Prohibition-era car sales tactics. An inventor "demonstrates" a used automobile to a guest by describing its mechanical operation, but the joke is that the radiator actually produces alcohol ("sour mash"—moonshine). The car becomes a cover for illegal liquor production and distribution. The six-panel sequence shows the con: gas ignites, the boiler heats, vapor condenses in the radiator, and finally liquid is collected in a glass from the drain cock. The punchline—"We should worry!"—suggests car dealers profited enormously during Prohibition (1920-1933) by selling vehicles ostensibly for transportation while actually marketing them as portable stills. The satire targets both Prohibition's absurdity and the widespread illegal alcohol manufacturing and sales that flourished during the "dry times."