Judge, 1929-01-12 · page 9 of 36
Judge — January 12, 1929 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Explanation for Modern Readers This page contains two distinct satirical pieces from *Judge* magazine: **Top cartoon**: A crude joke about lifeguards and "combers" (unclear what this references specifically), depicting a father warning children away from something dangerous. The accompanying text is a dark humor anecdote about a suicide attempt, typical of the magazine's irreverent tone. **Main article**: "The Origin of the Slot Machine" by Gersay—a fictionalized, humorous "history" attributing the slot machine's invention to one Vernon Slot from "Baloney, Mich." (a made-up place). The satire mocks: - Self-made American business mythology - How slot machines proliferated and displaced legitimate commerce - The irony that Slot's first machine contained dynamite and threatening notes rather than coins—suggesting the machines were already controversial and viewed as dangerous/criminal by the public The accompanying illustration shows chaotic scenes of the "Anti-Slot Machine Society in action," depicting machines being destroyed or attacked. This reflects actual early-20th-century resistance to slot machines, which were widely seen as gambling devices corrupting morality.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
DADDY, KEEP AWAY JUDGE FROM THOSE COMB LIFEGUARD'’S PAPOOs RS! IMPLORED ‘THE Thar she blows and breeches, and sparm at that! “When you got this atte mpted suicide out of the himself toa tre the barney. The Origin of the Slot Machine By Gerxey (Chewing Gum) Wientasts Rare Old Prints by Georor (Drinking Cup) Lrewresstes The slot machine—or “Dirty Gyp. s it is sometimes called— invented by Vernon Slot. who was born in Baloney, Mich. so long ago that everybody has forgotten about it except me. At > of Slot got tired of a freshman and left high school to sell chewing gum. “The way to make a wad in this busi said to himself, “is to stick everlastingly to it.” For several years he stuck to his gums in Baloney and kept all his sav ings in an old urn, presented to him by his Aunt Olg: A penny saved is a penny urned,” she used to say. By the time Vernon was 50 he had” saved . to go to New York (“You "t sell gum in the sticks,” he asserted) where the product he introduced heeame all the rage—especially amongst employers who had to watch their stenographers chew it. His grew to. such elastic that he be- was ness,” he business proportions piped the him down?” wondered Wasserv cater, what did he do?” queried Officer Wasse Idest of the five little Peppers. gan to look around for a means his gum on a lar but me ’ udn't been thought of, so Vernon ¥ seale; s forced to invent the so-called Slot (or slot) ma- chine. The first one, 5 Bronx cigar store ed outside a and containi ten sticks of gum, got him into all kinds of trouble. At the end of the first weck he found in the bot- tom of his crude machine not only “He hung “Why didn't you cut gel. “TE thought he hung himself up to dry,” blurted Smiling, the boy fell dead, Gott sei dank. the ten sticks of gum, but ten sticks of dynamite, $18 in pen- 48 buttons, a pound of wash ers, and several threatening notes from his customers. “Slot, of. Baloney,” he chuckled delighted- ly, patting himself on the back. His sense of honesty dulled by this sudden wealth, Slot built several more Ss, omitting the gum entirely this time, since the devices wouldn't deliver it (Continued on page 27) comicbooks.com