Life, 1900-07-12 · page 1 of 20
Life — July 12, 1900 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis This is the cover of Life magazine (July 12, 1900). The main illustration shows a lone figure with a telescope on a lunar landscape, gazing at Earth in the night sky—a reversal of our typical perspective. The caption reads "AS OTHERS SEE US" and the subtitle mentions "Deniers of the Moon" claiming "black spots are vast engineering enterprises like the Martian canals, and that the inhabitants devote themselves to peace and progress." **The satire**: This mocks turn-of-the-century speculation about intelligent life on Mars and the Moon. The joke imagines lunar inhabitants observing Earth and seeing similar "engineering enterprises" (cities, civilization), suggesting earthly observers are equally delusional in their beliefs about extraterrestrial intelligence. It's social commentary on human hubris and scientific overconfidence regarding space exploration claims.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
iti VOLUME XXXVI. NEW YORK, JULY 12, 1900. : NUMBER 922, Entered at the New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter. Copyright, 1900, by Lirg PUBLISHING ComPany. AS OTHERS SEE US. Denizen of the Moon: 1 DEDUCE THAT THE BLACK SPOTS ARE VAST ENGINEERING ENTERPRISES LIKE THE MARTIAN, CANALS, AND THAT THE INHABITANTS DEVOTE THEMSELVES TO PEACE AND PROORESS. icomicbooksscom