Judge, 1926-05-08 · page 29 of 36
Judge — May 8, 1926 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical advertisement for Blisterine mouthwash disguised as social commentary. The joke targets a woman (shown in portrait) who holds false beliefs about famous contemporaries and institutions. The satire lists well-known figures—boxer Jack Dempsey, poet Edgar Guest, illustrator Howard Chandler Christy, etc.—and suggests the woman's understanding of them (and American institutions like Yale and the Volstead Act) is completely wrong. The punchline implies her misconceptions are so fundamental that "even her best friends wouldn't tell her." The advertisement then pivots: the "real" problem isn't her ignorance about celebrities—it's presumably her bad breath, which Blisterine will solve. This creates dark humor by elevating a mouthwash problem to the level of profound social delusion, while suggesting her friends' silence stems from embarrassment about her oral hygiene rather than her confused beliefs.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE SATURDAY EVENING POST NUMBER OF She never knew— She thought— Jack Dempsey was a fighter— Edgar Guest was a poet— Howard Chandler Christy wasan artist— The Volstead Act was a law— Michael Arlen was a literary man— Yalewasan educational Institution— Stephen Leacock was a humorist— fee alin Peggy Joyce was an actress— The United States was a free country— And even her best friends wouldn’t tell her! A CHALLENGE We'll make a little wager with you that if you try one bottle of Blisterine you'll know better next time. comicbooks.com