Judge, 1924-09-13 · page 38 of 72
Judge — September 13, 1924 — page 38: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents a reader-participation humor contest. The setup shows a boss sarcastically confronting an office boy who's apparently skipping work, saying "I suppose you're going to your Grandmother's funeral"—implying the boy frequently uses this excuse. Readers were invited to submit a clever one-liner as the office boy's response, competing for a $25 prize. The humor relies on workplace dynamics typical of 1920s office culture: the power imbalance between boss and subordinate, and the well-worn excuse of attending a funeral to leave work. The contest reflects Judge magazine's interactive approach to humor—rather than providing the punchline, they crowdsourced it from readers. The September 30, 1924 deadline and November 1 publication date show this was a recurring feature ("No. 38" indicates many previous contests).
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Can you originate a clever second line for this joke? Boss (sarcastically)—I suppose you're going to your Grandmother's funeral. Office Boy. JUDGE’S FIFTY-FIFTY CONTEST No. 38 UDGE will award a prize of $25 for the cleverest second line in the above conversation. Study the situation, the characters, and their expressions, and then write the funniest, snappiest line you can think of. In case two or more persons submit the same winning line, $25 will be awarded to each. Any reader of Judge may compete. Any number of lines may be submitted but none will be returned. No. 38 Contest closes Sep- tember 30, 1924. The winning answer will appear in the November 1, 1924, issue of Judge. Check will be mailed to the Prize Winner on that date. In the meantime, No. 39 will appear next week. Write one line on a POSTCARD, sign your name and mail to Fifty-Fifty Editor of Judge, 627 West 43d Street, New York City. All answers, to be considered, must be received not later than September 30. supe GE. Volume 87, No. 2231 Published Weebly’ sad copyrighted TH oe i comicbooks.com