Judge — March 28, 1925 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes how standards for success and respectability have changed over history. It presents a humorous "outline" progressing from primitive to modern times: - **Old days**: A man needed only physical strength (swinging a club) or wealth (running up cleaning bills) - **Modern era ("but to-day—ye gods!")**: The standards have become absurdly specific and trivial, including a technical diagram about concealing "cute pits" (likely armpit appearance) "behind the right ear" The satire mocks contemporary society's obsession with superficial appearance and etiquette rules. The title "The popularity-seeker's Outline of History" suggests that modern "popularity-seeking" has become comically elaborate compared to simpler past criteria for status. The increasingly ridiculous requirements parody both pseudo-scientific self-help advice and the growing consumer culture's emphasis on personal grooming and social positioning in early 20th-century America.