Judge — May 2, 1925 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Judge Magazine Cover, May 2, 1925 This cover illustrates "The Thinker"—a woman in 1920s attire absorbed in solving a crossword puzzle. The illustration satirizes the era's craze for crossword puzzles, which had become a widespread popular pastime among the American public. The woman's contemplative pose mirrors Rodin's famous sculpture, elevating a trivial activity to mock-heroic status. Her accessories—a newspaper and crossword magazine—emphasize her complete absorption in this leisure activity rather than serious intellectual pursuits. The satire targets how crossword puzzles captivated the nation during the mid-1920s, often to the exclusion of more substantive concerns. Judge uses the ironic comparison to Rodin's philosophical "Thinker" to humorously critique this cultural obsession, suggesting Americans were devoting serious mental energy to what the magazine considers frivolous entertainment.