Life — February 6, 1913 — page 12: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 272 This page satirizes the rising cost of gasoline in early 20th-century America. The left side features a poem mocking how expensive fuel has become, complaining that "wallets that had bulges now have dents" and gas prices have reached "three-and-twenty cents." The illustration depicts a conversation between a woman and a man about the high cost of motor oil, with the caption: "ARE YOU SURE THAT THESE EGGS HAVE NO CHICKENS IN THEM?" / "YES, MISSIS. THEY ARE DUCK EGGS"—a joke about adulteration and fraud during an era of rising prices and consumer suspicion. The right side includes political verses addressing President Wilson and oil magnate John D. Rockefeller, linking the gasoline crisis to broader concerns about corporate greed and government responsibility during this inflationary period.