Life, 1910-12-08 · page 17 of 44
Life — December 8, 1910 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several satirical pieces typical of Life's social commentary: **"Health, Strength, Longevity and Work"** opens with the ironic deaths of Charles Breed (a celebrated "physically perfect" strong man) and Mr. La Farge (chronically ill but productive). The satire suggests that extreme health obsession and muscular perfection don't guarantee longevity—implying early 1900s anxieties about physical culture movements were misguided. **"Fame and Fate"** is a brief morality tale: Fame offers a man a five-cent cigar; Fate forces him to smoke it, driving him toward obscurity. This satirizes how small temptations or choices lead to ruin. **"The New Football"** praises recent rule changes that keep the ball visible and reduce dangerous pile-ups, making the sport more spectator-friendly. It's gentle advocacy for modernized sports safety. **"Answer to Enquiry"** advises an aspiring man that ambition is too late; instead, wear formal dress for dignity and restraint. The bottom cartoon shows a horse that shied at paper during a three-mile panic—humorous commentary on irrational animal behavior, possibly reflecting on human irrationality.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
1061 Health, Strength, Longevity and Work HARLES BREED, the world’s ama- teur champion strong man, pro- nounced “physically perfect” by Dr. Sargent, of Harvard, three years ago, dropped dead from heart disease in Lynn on November 15. He was. fifty-cight years old. The paper says “he never smoked or drank.” Neither excessive abstinence nor excessive muscular strength scem to be altogether healthy. Mr. La Farge, who died at seventy-five, on November 14, had been more or less “an ill man,” he said, for over forty years, in which he had done a vast deal of very valuable work. He said he had found his state of health favorable for struggle. Fame and Fate AME came to the Man “T will have a five-cent cigar for you,” she said, sweetly. Fate followed on her heels. g / “TL will make you smoke the cigar,” hissed Fate. yi The New Football Hastily the Man turned down the by- way to Obscurity. MORNING CALLERS IN THE GARDEN OF Y6EN HE doctors of football have done their patient good. It has been a T' = man who owes everything to his wife seldom pays it better game this fall than for a good many years past, Whole teams have survived games without serious disabil- ities, That old habit of piling all the men in a heap has been very much modified. They pile this year but don't stay piled. The game is more open and therefore more interesting to the spectators. Time was when the ball was seldom in sight. This year, under the new rules, it is seldom out of sight. The difference is important to the spec- lator. He sometimes gets his money's worth this year, even in comparatively unimportant matches, for the game is an interesting game, provided you can see enough of it to understand a part of what the young gentlemen are doing. The Rules Committee has done well. Let them go on now and heat the seats. After November 1 the seats ought to be warmed. Answer to Enquiry EAR FRIEND: “Tis 100 late to be ambitious ‘The great mutations of the world are acted, or time may be too short for our desires."” Meanwhile, turn over a new leaf; send your Khaki and Stetson to a muscum, put on your top hat when you go out in the morning and wear your frock coat all day. Dignity in garb makes for restraint and. seemli- WELL, MR. DODDIN, WHY ARE YOU SO LATE FoR DINNER?" ness in conduct. Your friend, “OM DEAR, 1 SHIED AT A PIECE OF PAPER AND RAN THREE Lire. MILES OUT OF THE WAY BEFORE 1 COULD STOP MYSELF.’"