Judge, 1928-04-07 · page 8 of 36
Judge — April 7, 1928 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Judge Magazine Satire Analysis This page satirizes superstition and magical thinking through dark humor. **"The Cautious Man"** mocks Kenneth Covington, a man obsessed with avoiding bad luck—he detours around cemeteries, won't walk under ladders, carries rabbit's feet, and stays in bed on Friday the 13th. The bitter punchline: despite all precautions, he dies from accepting a drink from a stranger—a risk his superstitions never addressed. The joke is that paranoid avoidance of imaginary dangers leaves one vulnerable to *real* ones. **The top cartoon** depicts shipwrecked sailors atop wreckage. One complains about spilled salt (bad luck), missing the absurdity: they're already shipwrecked, so salt superstitions are pointless. **"A Fine Hoo Do You Doo"** presents a tailor asking a writer for a check. The writer refuses, claiming he's jinxed—everything he writes "comes back." The tailor mocks this, suggesting superstition prevents honest payment. The magazine ridicules how people cling to irrational beliefs even when circumstances prove such thinking useless.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
First Suipwreckeo Satton—There! The Cautious Man Kenneth Covington once de- toured thirty-five miles through country lanes to avoid driving past a cemetery at midnight. He proudly boasted that never in his lifetime had he walked un- der a ladder. He always kept a rabbit's foot in his left vest pocket and a good luck charm in his coat. If he put his undershirt on wrong side out in the morning, it remained that way all the day. On Friday the thirteenth he re- mained in bed in a darkened room. Every time he beheld a black cat he rapidly voiced the neces- sary incantations and charms to nullify the animal's malevolent influence. DGE Guost—My gosh, Gus, but you look pale! Ain't you 2 feelin’ Ye've spilled th’ salt! Dern ye, don’t ye know that's bad luck? The sudden death of Kenneth Covington was announced yester- day morning. He accepted a drink from a stranger's flask. —A. L. L. A Fine Hoo Do You Doo “You're a writer,” the tailor suggested. “Yes, why?” “Write me a check.” “That would never do.” “Why?” “Jinx. Bad lick. Hoodoo.” “Hooray! Anew one! Go on. Tell me some more why you no write me checks.” “Everything I write comes comicbooks.com