Life, 1917-01-25 · page 10 of 40
Life — January 25, 1917 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main cartoon depicts a street scene with a woman and dogs near a fancy automobile labeled "Quick Lunch." The satirical caption mocks the vehicle as an "up-to-date girl" and lists absurd features: "1917 model, O.D. hair, demountable figure, quick pick up, good for any speed, no crank lamps, doesn't waste gas, self-starting, one-man control, and non-skid morals for slippery going." This is satirizing the "modern woman" of 1917—particularly the "flapper" type—by comparing her to an automobile with interchangeable parts and mechanical features. The joke plays on anxieties about women's changing roles, morality, and independence during the WWI era. Terms like "demountable figure" and "non-skid morals" sarcastically reference both automotive innovation and concerns about loose female sexuality.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Freddie: UP-TO-DATE GIRL, ISN'T SHE? ue } satis It Motorist: yep; 1917 MODEL, Q. D, HAIR, DEMOUNTABLE FIGURE, QUICK PICK UP, GOOD FOR ANY SPEED, NO GLARE LAMPS, DOESN’T WASTE GAS, SELF-STARTING, ONE-MAN CONTROL, AND NON-SKID MORALS FOR SLIPPERY GOING, Winged Wisdom R. F, L. BURNS, the bird census man, has recently been taking a census of English sparrows, and his esti- mate is that there are 165 millions of this interesting bird in this country. We presume. that this is so, although we have no accurate means of checking off his figures, except that, judging by the sound just outside of our window in the morning, we should think that possibly Mr. Burns had underestimated the total. The English sparrow has thus increased, from the time he first came over to this country, much more than we have. We are only about 113 millions, and he is 165. How can this increase be accounted for? Quite easily. Since he came he has attended strictly to business. He has not had time to pass any eugenic laws; he has had no medical profession. He is not interested in politics, serums or motor cars. He is not a highbrow. He lives in the fresh air most of the time, and does all of his own housework. He supports no hospitals, has de- veloped no literature, marries and unmarries when he feels like it without the supercilious paironage of an Episcopal Church, and, in fact, does as he d——d pleases. Why should he not increase? For being what an American citi- zen ought to be, he has the best of us beaten to a frazzle, TLL. M. "THE evangelist smashed, with his fist, three pulpits in as many weeks, and stamped four holes through the floor. The free-will offering amounted to $100,000. But the city went wet. - “Showing that the maintenance of a logical continuity of events is not, after all, a first consideration with the masses!” remarked the thoughtful onlookers, their interest not unmingled’ with regret. GEAWEORD: The war seems to be growing more brutal every day. CrassHaAw: No wonder. The Allies have been forced to adopt some of the German methods of warfare. comicbooks.com