Life — December 24, 1914 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 1150 **Main Content:** The page features a poem titled "Not Germany" by Theodore C. Williams, attributing various human achievements (steam power, microscopes, wireless technology, aviation) to sources other than Germany—a pointed rejection of German claims to civilizational superiority, likely written during or after WWI. **Illustrations:** The right side shows "The New Opera Frocks," depicting fashionable women in elaborate costumes for operatic roles, identifying figures from productions like "Cormèn" and "Tristan and Isolde." **Lower Cartoon:** A small comic sketch shows two figures at a window with the caption: "Is this 'ambidextrous'? Ambidious as hell, m'am. He wud bite you in a minute."—a pun on manual dexterity versus aggressive behavior. **Context:** This appears to be WWI-era satire asserting that Germany deserves no credit for modern civilization's advances.