Life — September 13, 1917 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Gambler" - Weed Tire Chains Advertisement This is a **safety advertisement disguised as moral commentary**. The "gambler" is any motorist who drives in wet conditions without tire chains. The dice imagery (left side) represents the element of chance—comparing unsafe driving to gambling with lives. The ad's message: installing Weed Tire Chains before rain isn't optional caution; it's a moral imperative. The gambler "pits skill against the Skid," but skill alone cannot prevent accidents on slippery roads. Only tire chains provide genuine safety. This reflects early 20th-century automotive anxiety: cars were still relatively new, roads unpaved or poorly maintained, and winter driving genuinely dangerous. The advertiser frames chain installation as a responsibility to passengers and other road users, using shame and morality rather than convenience as the sales pitch.