Judge, 1931-12-19 · page 10 of 36
Judge — December 19, 1931 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Judge Magazine: "Seeing Double" by Jack Cluett This page satirizes the University of California's twin-research study (referenced in the Times News Item) by presenting absurd questionnaires twins might face. The humor works on multiple levels: **The cartoons** show chaos—a tap dancer caught mid-performance near a TV, and crowds at "Men's Pajamas" and "Lingerie" shops, implying the confusion and mayhem twins supposedly cause. **The questions** mock both the research itself and broader 1920s concerns: political inheritance ("If one twin is a Democrat..."), commercial brand mascots (Gold Dust Twins, Dolly Sisters, Smith Brothers), and period anxieties about identity confusion ("were you exchanged by your nurse?"). References to "Keith's Circuit" (vaudeville) and the "Wickersham report" (Prohibition enforcement) ground the satire in contemporary 1920s culture. The overall joke: studying twins scientifically is futile—they're fundamentally bewildering.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ere as SEEING DOUBLE By Jack Cluett ("The University of Cali- fornia Institute of Child Wel- fare is trying to find out all about twins and to that end has located 750 pairs in this vicinity."—Times News Item.) SvGcrsteD questionnaire for twins: At what age did you first realize that you were looking at your brother and not at yourself? ° Are twins harder to raise tha Irish sheep dogs, (b) che whoope If one twin is a Democrat is the other apt to be a Republ if the father is a Socialist and the mother is a Farmer-Laborite? Which are the most confusing: (a) male twins (b) fems twins, (c) mixed twins, (d) the Wickersham re- port? How did the wolf know that Romu- lus was not Remus or Remus Romu- lus? If a young man proposes to a twin and she says: “You're not proposing to me—I'm her sister,” what should he do about it? Is it considered proper for a twin to his brother: “You've worn a the seat of your pants’? Is it true that Keith's Circuit has a spy who goes sneaking around town throwing vaudeville contracts into double-seated perambulators ? “Mary! Quick! I’ve caught that tap dancer!” If one twin is kind to his brother and the brother is kind to his twin, does it necessarily follow that they will be kind to h other? Which set of girls would you rather have do your work: (a) the Gold Dust Twins, (b) the Dolly Sisters, (c) the Smith Brothers? Would hanging be good enough for the author of the followin; Isn't he cute? He has his mother's eyes and his brother's shoes.” Who first made the crack: “East is East and West is West and never the twins shall meet’? If you're a male twin and your sis- ter’s a female twin, how can you dress up so everyone will be hopelessly con- fused unless you each wear a red hair ribbon? How do you know you weren't ex- changed by your nurse for two other fellows back in 1904? Did you ever hit yourself in the jaw, thinking it was your brother or sister? Are you your brother's keeper or your keeper's brother or were you just looking at yourself in the mirror? comicbooks.com