Judge — October 1, 1921 — page 3: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Super-Stition" — Judge Magazine, October 1, 1921 This cartoon satirizes domestic labor turnover in the post-WWI era. A man discharges a cook, claiming he suddenly remembered she was "the thirteenth we'd had this year"—invoking the superstition that the number thirteen brings bad luck. The joke targets two 1920s anxieties: the widespread "servant problem" (difficulty retaining household staff due to better employment options) and persistent superstitious beliefs. By attributing the cook's firing to superstition rather than actual performance issues, the cartoon mocks the arbitrary and irrational excuses employers used to justify frequent worker dismissals. The woman's calm demeanor suggests she's unsurprised—implying this superstitious justification was a common, absurd pretext for employment instability among the working class.