Judge, 1928-05-19 · page 35 of 36
Judge — May 19, 1928 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a *Judge* magazine puzzle/satire presenting a fictional "Egyptian charade" as a guessing game. The joke operates on multiple levels: **The Premise**: Readers are shown an illustration of whimsical figures and told to guess a four-syllable word they supposedly represent—a playful charades challenge. **The Satire**: The text mocks various cultural targets. It references the D.A.R. (Daughters of the American Revolution) as a "lovely statue," and mentions Hendrik Van Loon's "literary merit" sarcastically (suggesting his work was of dubious quality). A penguin on a mushroom appears as one decoded element, absurdly. **The Fake Authority**: Dr. Wort (a pun name suggesting he's "not worth" taking seriously) supposedly discovered this tablet but was committed to a psychiatric ward—undermining the entire premise's credibility. **The Prize**: Readers sending correct guesses receive "not more than five nor less than three turtles"—an intentionally nonsensical reward, emphasizing the whole thing is humorous fiction rather than a genuine contest.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HE figures on this | page were reproduced | from an old Egyptian { tablet of charades for little i folks and grown-ups, and was recently turned over to the Smith & Wesson Insti- tute by a Dr. Wort, who in turn was turned over to the psychopathic ward of the | city hospital. This quaint old relic of a bygone civilization rep- resents a four-syllable ] word, but so far the best | brains in the country (advt.) have failed to reach a solution. A few symbols have been interpreted: the lovely statue representing the D. A. R. is holding aloft a symbolic figure of | the Netherlands (probably a representation of the lit- | erary merit of Hendrik Van | Loon), and indubitably the 2 years..... 21 weeks 1 year Hand-Painted Charades And See How You Like Them figure on the extreme right is a penguin | at rest on a mushroom. However, there | has been no interpretation of this. The point is, you must buckle on your thinking cap and let us know just what you think the formation of turtles and the butterfly and all that really meant to those JUDGE, 627 West 43rd St., N. Y. City d to the charade, T would say off-hand that the word represented is ....e66 ceaivue ly, you may send me Junct for seen ee eeeeee seers at $7.80 funny old Egyptians. Anyone guessing the four-syllable word will get any money back that might have been sent to defray the operating cost of the charade department of JUDG Anyone guessing the right word three times in succession will be given not more than five nor less than three turtles. ! at 2.00 at 5.00