Judge, 1931-01-24 · page 11 of 36
Judge — January 24, 1931 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Judge Magazine Satire Analysis This page satirizes the American obsession with consumer inventions and patents during the early 20th century. The "Great Opportunities" section mocks absurd, impractical invention ideas, many targeting domestic annoyances: **Key satirical inventions:** - An automatic cat ejector (poking fun at pet owners) - A grapefruit squirt predictor (absurdly specific) - A college yell-leader power generator (mocking student culture) - A baby buggy recording device that destroys "smart remarks" (satirizing modern technology applied to parenting) - A menthol motor antidote for cars (treating vehicles like people) **The cartoons** ridicule motorcar culture: a "worm-drive vehicle" and a mistaken-identity gag about gangsters, reflecting 1920s anxieties about organized crime and rapid automobile proliferation. The overall message: Americans will patent *anything*, no matter how useless or bizarre, reflecting contemporary consumer capitalism and technological mania.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Great Opportunities ow is the time to make money by inventing things. Scorn the com- tmonpl Put your imagination to 1, worthwhile things in life. A for- +, or something, awaits you if you can invent and offer to the publ onable pric y of the follow AUTOMATIC CAT PUTTER OUT AND rapper over: A device that will throw the cat outside at the right hour cach evening and then trip over him when he tries to scram back in a Guarernvrr squirt inpicator: This gadget should operate similarly to an egg candler, making it possible to ap- ply the invention to the outside of a apefruit so as to indicate which ay cach half of the fruit will squirt, JUDGE The first worm-drive vehicle. Cor—Oh! Pardon me! I thought maybe it was a dead gangster! “Oh, why did I ever marry a sleep-walking bill-poster!” 9 the power of each squirt and the num- ber of squirts. Osky-wow-wow POWER GENERATOR: A system whereby the head, shoulders, arms and waists of college yell leaders may be harnessed during off: and made to develop electr seasons SMARTCRACKS RECORDING INsTRU- ment: A device that may be installed in a baby buggy to automatically record (and then destroy) smart things the baby says. Mentioz Motor antipore: An at- tachment that will at once administer a gargle and apply a mustard plaster to your motor when it coughs and wheezes on cold winter mornings. —Cuetr Jounson comicbooks.com