Judge — February 1937 — page 11: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“Hello, laundry? Whatsa matter—did you run out of starch over there?” THE SIT-DOWN STRIKE A few notes on the latest winter sport, which promises What It Is: The “Sit-Down Strike” is the newest wrinkle in indoor sports, fol. lowing close on the heels of “Handies” and “Knock-Knock.” It can be played by any man or woman with a job. The object of the game is to see how long one can sit down on the job in your opponent's stadium, or place of busi- ness, before getting bored, or hungry, or whacked over the cocoanut by a man in a uniform who is known as the “Joker.” Who Discovered It: The inventor is populasiy supposed to be an obscure Po- ish punch.press operator in Toledo, O. A regular routine game of “Strike” had been called, and all his fellows rose, picked up their lunchboxes and filed out. The inventor, however, was dozing over his press, and did not hear the call. When he came to (aroused by the shut- ting of the door), he sprang to a win- dow. Too late! He was caught. So he sat down in a chair by the window, lit his pipe, and just pretended that he had in. tended to stay right there all the time. His co-workers were baffled for a spell, but finally decided that he was much more comfortable inside the mill than they were on the outside. So they all raced inside, and there they sat. to rival skiing in popular acclaim. How It Works: It's really very simple. The team captain, who may be any one of the representatives of a dozen or so different unions, groups, or guilds, goes around with a wink and whispers, “Game on tonight—stick around.” So you get on the ‘phone and tell the family you won't be home, and to send you your “Sit- Down Strike Outfit,” and then at five P-m. you just sit down and stay there. Who Pays for It: For a short time, it appears that you do. Then it becomes pretty evident that your opponent (who owns the stadium) is going to be set back plenty, and you laugh like anything. Later on, however, you both have the laugh of the year when prices rise and the ultimate scoring reveals that the good old public has been backing the game right from the start—the chumps! Equipment: Like skiing, curling, and skeet shooting, there is great latitude in the sort of gear you can use. The real Fancy Dans in the "Sit-Down Strike” game surround themselves with an al- most Oriental luxury. They appear with folding cots, fireless cookers, radios, ban- jos, Five-Foot Book Shelves, tins of pre- serves, razors and dancing pum s. Like the old sourdoughs, they break cam with a professional speed, and are ready for fun before the tenderfeet have even unlatched their overalls. A modest outfit for, say, a game last- ing a week would consist of something like this: current magazines, 4 cartons cigarettes, 1 wool suit & 1 cotton suit, pinochle cards, toilet articles, slippers, 2 down pillows, canned goods. Probable Developments: It is a trifle difficult to forecast the trend which the “Sit-Down Strike” craze will take, over the next few months. Shrewd observers incline to believe that it will be succeeded by a not unnatural further development —in the form of the “Lie-Down Strike.” This will require only a slightly larger court, and a slight added expense for equipment such as mattresses, sleeping bags, and alarm clocks. The rules regarding ‘Parleys,” etc., would, of course, have to be amended to schedule them only in the middle of the day, when the “Lie-Down Se eee ers would all be up and about, and not dawdling around the badminton quad. rangles. —STANLEY JONES. Judge comicbooks.com