Judge, 1927-08-20 · page 35 of 36
Judge — August 20, 1927 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes astrology through a fake "Crab's Horrorscope"—a zodiac parody claiming Cancer (the crab) is the zodiac's most cursed sign. The circular chart lists supposed planetary influences and personality traits associated with this "unhappy sign." The humor lies in the questionnaire below, which lists deliberately negative, antisocial behaviors: believing in superstitions, getting mad in traffic, snapping at children, hissing at youth, throwing books at servants, mistreating caddies, and swearing at weather. The satire mocks both astrology's pretensions and human grumpiness generally. By asking readers to self-diagnose whether they're afflicted with the "Crab curse," Judge ridicules astrology's pseudoscientific claims while using the caricatured angry face as a universal symbol of irritability. The magazine offers a subscription as humorous "cure" for this manufactured malady—typical period advertising satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
WERE YOU BORN UNDER THE SIGN OF THE CRAB? = oC a co eek min, Ln a 115 Twins >. \ © 272 D27 \ ToKMeeS a\ oy mouy,o \ ke no Seener fi! 5 \ AVOID HIMMEN nw mercury / WF 25 moe Nove >, / Vousteap _/MEPTUNE \ 2 gone a) a / [ "4a, A Th THE CuRSE VENUS / OF oRINK 7 SKRUN BASKET \ \ 7 PICNICS \Surrrer\ IES Re "| waiskers age \ A man's own \ FAULT BEWARE oF N THE poe SK KEEP away b ee \ FRom BULLS '~e | ag 26- \ NEVER DRINK \ BE CareruL oF | IN AN AQUARIUM THE HEAD AND LER, It is a well-known fact among astrologers that the most unhappy sign of the zodiac is the crab, or as the Greeks called it the c-r-a-b. Check up on this Crab’s Horrorscope, and if you find you are afflicted with this curse do not lose a moment—mail us the questionnaire as indicated. 1. Do you believe in Blue Sunday 15: Do you-enjoy your wor a P A 16. Do you enjoy doing anything? 2. Do you think the world is going to the e J°Y Bey dogs . Would you like to get out from under fet is sign—have some fun every week? 3. Do you bark at your wife in the morn- this sigi € ) ing? Evening? 4. Do you throw books at your help? Satur- Nore: Just fill in the coupon, carefully pack in Ja > gold, and ship to us immediately. It is written in ays, "too: the Crab's Horrorscope that this weekly antidote 5. Do you get mad in traffic? aill knock your grouch for a loop. 6. Do you mistreat caddies when it’s all your fault? JUDGE PUBLISHING COMPANY, Inc. 14. The rain? 7. Do your neighbors speak to you? i 627 West 43d St, New York 8. Do you snarl at little children? { Send me Jupce for: 9. Snap at stray dogs? : 1 year..... $5.00 0 10. Do you hiss the younger generation ? : at weeks 2.000 ° H 2 years... 73800 11. Throw dirty remarks at your grand- : father? 1 Name...ceccceeeccseeeeeneeeeeeeeeeeneeeeaes 12. Do you swear at the heat? H ; $ Address.......0.ccccceceeeceeeeeeeeeeeeeees 13. The humidity? io { City... H comicbooks.com