Life — December 15, 1910 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "In the Good Old Days" - Life Magazine Satire This page satirizes life before modern conveniences by contrasting past hardships with contemporary (early 20th century) innovations. The labeled vignettes mock outdated conditions: - **Electric light** was "quite upheaded" (unclear phrasing, possibly "unheard of") - **Houses** required manual hot/cold water delivery - **Taxicabs** were merely horse-drawn carriages, not motorized - **Corporal punishment** was "still in vogue" - **Transatlantic travel** took months by ship - **Vestigial** transportation methods preceded trains - **Telephones** for doctors were unavailable The bottom panel shows people struggling in primitive conditions with the caption "You could not telephone for the doctor." The overall message celebrates modern progress and technological advancement as liberation from past suffering—a common progressive-era theme in American humor.