Judge — November 17, 1923 — page 22: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page mocks emerging 1920s consumer culture and get-rich-quick schemes through fake advertisements. The satirical ads include: - **"Doom Jr. Washing Machine"** (by "General Destruction Co."): Absurdist humor suggesting modern appliances destroy rather than help - **"Put-and-Take Studios"**: Ridicules songwriting mills where anyone could submit lyrics for payment—a real but disreputable industry practice - **"Neerni Breakfast Bacon"**: A product ad where a couple prefers staying in bed to eating breakfast, mocking consumerism's hollow promises - **"Affliction" bed ad**: References a real product; the satire suggests it causes marital problems rather than comfort - **"Bustwick Glass Kitchen-Ware"**: The final joke shows a woman saying broken dishes "were no good anyway"—satirizing low-quality goods marketed as solutions The page title "The Millennium at Last!" ironically suggests these products represent progress. Instead, Judge criticizes widespread fraud, poor manufacturing, and consumer gullibility during this era of rapid commercialization.