Life, 1915-11-04 · page 36 of 56
Life — November 4, 1915 — page 36: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three satirical pieces typical of *Life* magazine's humor: 1. **"So Be Thankful"**: A sarcastic list mocking Americans' hardships (hospitalization, insurance failures, financial ruin, theft, hair loss, asthma) while sarcastically celebrating that "Ford stories appear to be decreasing"—referring to jokes about Ford automobiles, likely Model T reliability issues that were culturally ubiquitous at the time. 2. **The fashion joke**: Satirizes women's fashion obsession by presenting owning a six-month-old dress as hopelessly outdated, mocking rapid style changes. 3. **The animal cartoon**: Uses animal characters (Judge Frog, Officer Turtle, Willie Duck) in a pun about election fraud. "Floater" means both a vagrant voter (election fraud) and something that floats—wordplay based on the duck character. 4. **The Thanksgiving cartoon**: Shows an optimist thanking goodness he won't carve turkey—presumably because the turkey is gone (suggesting poverty or misfortune).
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
So Be Thankful LTHOUGH business may have been bad with you all year— Although you may have had to spend half your time in the hospital— Although your insurance policy may have expired the day before the place burned— Although you may have had to pay for the notes you endorsed for a friend— Although your pocket may have been picked, your hair may be falling and you may have developed chronic asthma— Still be thankful— The crop of Ford stories appears to be decreasing. “QHE'S an old-fashioned girl, isn’t she?” “Dear me, yes! She had on a frock at least six months old.” Judge Frog: WHATS THE TROUBLE, OFFICER? Officer Turtle: WHY, WILLIE DUCK IS ACCUSED OF ELECTION FRAUDS. THEY CHARGE HIM WITH BEING A FLOATER Optimist; THANK GOODNESS, I WON'T HAVE TO CARVE THAT TURKEY, ANYWAY when Kans it wa both the g bank: finan shaky was * unabl nervo diges: he co succe: losing lieved Was Nn not li Wh day, | in phy man @ of mit tebort could renew Itt “Tow boda, ple pr how 1 body every youth, by spe health S phy. busine to the it in m wher