Judge — November 2, 1929 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This page from *Judge* magazine presents "Ancient Sources of Modern Inventions: The Windshield Wiper." The illustration shows a Gothic cathedral or church interior during a rainstorm, with figures using what appear to be primitive wiping implements (possibly branches or cloths on poles) to clear water from a large window or opening. The cartoon humorously suggests that the modern windshield wiper—a relatively recent automobile innovation—has ancient precedent in medieval religious architecture, where clergy or caretakers would have needed to clear rain from large windows. The satire likely mocks either: (1) the tendency to claim "new" inventions have ancient origins, or (2) the idea that modern technology simply rediscovers forgotten old methods. The joke plays on the incongruity between sacred medieval spaces and mundane automotive needs.