Judge, 1927-07-09 · page 26 of 36
Judge — July 9, 1927 — page 26: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains multiple satirical pieces typical of early 20th-century Judge magazine: **Main Article: "The Devastating Possibility of Courtesy"** The central satire mocks the emerging telephone operator practice of saying "Thank you" instead of repeating phone numbers. The comic dialogue escalates absurdly as a caller and operator become locked in an endless cycle of mutual thanking and compliments, ultimately failing to complete the call. The joke satirizes excessive politeness becoming counterproductive—a commentary on shifting social conventions around service interactions and the potential absurdity of over-politeness in practical matters. **Supporting Content:** - A Barbasol shaving cream advertisement - Brief humor snippets about romance and materialism (car payments, age-fibbing chorus girls) - A seaside cartoon about romantic struggle The page reflects period anxieties about changing manners and technology's social implications, particularly how new communication systems (telephones) required novel etiquette protocols that could themselves become problematic.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Dorotuy—I thought that boy who just passed looked well, didn’t you? Irts—Yes, still looking! —Lonxvon Opinion dear—and he’s Examine” I, had ex- amine potatoes for breakfast. Ask the Man Who Mows One The tougher the beard, the easier it is to shave with Barbasol. . . No brush. Norub-in. No after - smart. Try Barbasol— 3 times—accord- ing to directions. ‘‘Mister, next!”’ you’re The Barbasol Company Indianapolis, Ind. Tenclose 10c. Please send trial tube. The Devastating Possibility of Courtesy Telephone operators are now aying “Thank you” instead of repeating the number. Fact by personal observation (although learned entirely by ear). “I want Googoo 1234.” “Thank y “Tt really isn’t necessary under the circumstances.” “But really I feel I must.” “Good heavens, why, my dear girl?” “Well, I don’t know. nice of you to call.” “TI suppose it was, but couldn't you thank me in some other way?” “Well, really! Mr. Subscriber, “Oh, don’t misunderstand me. I meant in some other nice way.” “In a nice way? Oh, yes, I see. Well, I certainly feel I ought to thank you.” “And it makes me very proud that I’ve brought so much pleas- ure into your life.” “It's the small things that count, Mr. Subscriber, and I've been longing for a nice Googoo long. Can you ame me for thanking you?” “No, I honestly can’t if it was actually that close to your heart. And I'm glad we had this little talk. We both feel better, don’t It was “Oh, indeed! Mr. Subscriber. And now I shall get you Googoo pee “Thank you so much.” “There you go thanking me and you wouldn’t let me thank you. I don’t think that’s fair.” “T know, but you're behaving so sporting about the whole matter.” “I'm forced to say the same for you and admit that Googoo 34 doesn’t answer.” ‘hat’s all right. Don’t let it worry you. I probably just missed the person I was calling while I was talking to you. But it certainly was worth it.” “Then I needn't try the num- ber again, Mr. Subscriber?” No, if you don’t mind. Of course, if you've got your heart set on it. . . .” “Oh, not at all.” “Then that'll be all. Good-by, and thank you.” “Thank you!” —Carroit Carroii red If only your car would go as fast as the instalments fall due! —Pink ‘Un Read The two chorus girls were having tea together. Do you know,” said one, “when the manager asked me my age, I couldn't for the life of me remember whether I was twenty or twenty-one.” “What did you say?” asked her friend. “Oh,” replied the other, “I split the difference and said nine- teen.” —Trr Bits Arpvent One—Ah, Mabel, dear, I love you so! Don’t struggle to take that dear, cold little hand from me. —Gatety comicbooks.com