Life, 1916-02-03 · page 40 of 48
Life — February 3, 1916 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three main elements: **"How to Keep Ill"** is a satire—likely by Life's editors—that inverts health advice through irony. Readers would recognize it as mocking widespread practices of the era: patent medicine advertisements, overreliance on doctors, sensationalist "yellow journalism," and hypochondria. The satire suggests that by *ignoring* causation, consulting only orthodox physicians, reading medical ads, and switching medicines constantly, one *ensures* illness rather than health. The closing joke—that following this advice leaves one "infirm" by forty—drives home the absurdity of accepting whatever cure-all advertisements promise. **The small cartoon** captioned "Oh, Jakey! Stop an' tink! Remember dot dinner cost one toller" appears to use ethnic dialect and depicts a child or young person. The context suggests commentary on poverty or immigrant struggles—though specifics of the referenced incident are unclear from the image alone. **The advertisements**—for Art Metal filing equipment, Crème Yvette liqueur, and Burpee seeds—are period product promotions, not satirical content.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
CTPEE —a little pull, and out roll the drawers with almost rubber-tired ease and silence,” says Olive Green. Art (Y\atal Steel Filing Equipment —makes daily filing a pleasure, and finding a certainty, in any office. See and try Art Metal for yourself. Visit the Art Metal agency in your city and emerge henceforth “filing wise” Send for our book- - it's more than acatalog. Yours for the asking. ‘al Construction Company, I )\18 Metallic Avenue, Jamestown, sa Please send my copy of your new catalog, “on, JAKEY! STOP AN’ TINK! REMEM- BER DOT DINNER COST ONE TOLLER” How to Keep Ill ETERNAL vigilance is the price of illness. Unless you keep the mat- ter constantly in mind, the laws of Nature are almost certain to bring you to a state of health. Health is real and constantly threatens us. If one expects to remain in perfect illness, one cannot adopt a supine attitude. The first thing, when one is ill, is to forget that it was probably caused by something. This is important. When a cause of an illness is known to an ab- solute certainty, the temptation to re- move it, even in the most strong-willed persons, is irresistible. If the cause is removed health is inevitable. Should it be, however, that you are so wedded to logic as not to be able to think except in terms of cause and effect, assign some silly cause, such as that a germ attacked you, or that you “caught a little cold,” or that you are “just a little bilious,” or that you are “subject to these attacks.” Dismiss from your mind all thought of late suppers, overindulgence in highly spiced foods and highly spirited liquors. Sce a doctor. Be sure that he is ab- solutely orthodox and thoroughly old- fashioned. At any rate, be sure that he is not too busy nor too wise to give good, strong medicine and plenty of it. Buy a yellow journal. Look up your symptoms in the patent medicine ad- vertisements which all yellow journals have in abundance. These will make you feel ill whether you are or not. Send in five dollars for six bottles of Six Superb Spencers For 25¢ 33.211 pale" seeds) each of ELFRIDA PEARSON, 8 sk, of gigantic size; Kinc ‘of all White Spencers ki suffused del! 1 most brilliant Deavtifal light. (90 to 100 Sweet! Pe culture 1 ‘i Sioud ith each collection. Burpee’s Annual for 1918 ‘The Fortieth Ansiversary Edition of the Lead! jon this pablicatien. W. ATLEE BURPEE & C Burpee Buildings Philadelphia + | TM MT CREME YVETTE (Pronounced E-vet ) “For Smart Desserts” Créme Yvette imparts the deli- cate taste and colour of the violet to ices, charlottes, cake ic- } ings and sorbets. It’s the added touch that makes your luncheons and dinners z distinctive. Sold at 8oc. and $1.50 per bottle. Ask your grocer or wine dealer for free sample. Book of signed recipes by wellknown ‘Chefs, sent. free for your dealer's’ name and address. Write to-day. SHEFFIELD COMPANY 7th Ave, at 14th St. New York the medicine that makes the wildest claim. Double the prescribed doses At the slightest signs of returning health, switch to another brand. Have patience. Nature will do everything in her power to preserve your bodily vigor, but Nature is not unconquerable If you persist you are sure to get the better of her. If the average person will carefully adhere to these ideas until he is forty, his constitution will then be so infirm he can relax his vigilance somewhat, knowing he will creak audibly for the balance of his days. B ‘owt landr ed, by treatrr Grac: Dept.