Life — May 20, 1897 — page 13: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a humorous three-panel sequence satirizing an inventor named Brown and his new motorized bicycle. The comic depicts a slapstick narrative: **Panel 1:** Brown confidently attempts a "century run" (100-mile journey) on his motor cycle, but immediately loses control, scattering pedestrians and a dog in chaos. **Panel 2:** He careens through a barnyard, unable to manage the vehicle as animals scatter wildly. **Panel 3:** The chaos culminates in complete mayhem—multiple people are flung into the air. The satire mocks both early motor vehicle technology (unreliable and dangerous) and the hubris of inventors promoting unproven innovations. It's a commentary on the hazards of new technology and the gap between technological ambition and practical safety—concerns as relevant to early 1900s audiences as modern discussions about experimental vehicles remain today.