Judge, 1929-08-24 · page 9 of 36
Judge — August 24, 1929 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Explanation for Modern Readers This 1920s-era Judge magazine page contains automotive humor satirizing women's ignorance about cars—a contemporary social anxiety as automobiles became common. **"I Know a Girl"** mocks a woman who confuses car parts with unrelated concepts: the differential with debate, "c'est la gear" (French wordplay), the clutch as a dance, brake bands as orchestras, and oil cups as cocktails. The humor relies on the premise that women mechanically incompetent, yet confident in their cluelessness. **"Impatient Wife"** shows a woman with an obviously broken-down vehicle, dismissing her husband's concerns—satirizing both marital tension and female disregard for practical maintenance. **"Believe It or Not"** features a traffic stop caption about being late for school, likely mocking reckless driving or traffic enforcement. The cartoons reflect 1920s anxiety about women entering the automotive world, presenting female drivers as comically uninformed rather than capable. This reflects the period's cultural resistance to women's independence and technological competence.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ah: JUDGE Impatient Wirr—Oh, don’t be so particular, Hilary—it may look better when you get it home! I Know a Girl — She thinks the differential has something to do with a debate that . vears is French for wa (whi r things turn out wu expectedly bad she can be heard murmuring “c'est la gear”) and that the exhaust is part of a bathtub, but — she ys she’s learned all about what makes a motor car run, When I asked her if she knew the principle of the muffler she told me it was to keep the draft out of the engine. It is her idea that the clutch is a new dance, that brake bands are hot orchestras, and that oil cups are cocktails served in demi- tasses. se WOOL STREET DRIVE SLOWLY It developed, when I mentioned the throttle, that she knew all about that, too. She says she'd throttle anyone who tried to get fresh with her in an auto. When I wanted to know if she was afraid of back-firing she told me she was. She says when any of these prohibition officers get back of you and start firing you'd better stop, because they're apt to hit you, She thinks the crank shaft is a traffic cop’s leg, that bearings are something you lose and that. the fan belt is up around the Polo Grounds and the Yankee Sta- dium Sh had in car was fr ays the only trouble s ning how to drive mbering which to push the lever to go slow or faster. Another trouble se to be that she always went into reverse instead of second. —Carnrott Carrote Believe It or Not Two Hebrews got jobs to act in talking pictures, so the first thing they did was to insure their hands. rh 3] hte es 1 “Aw! but, Officer, we're late for school!” pooks.com