Life, 1918-02-28 · page 6 of 40
Life — February 28, 1918 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily a **product advertisement**, not satire. It promotes the "Weed Chain-Jack," a mechanical lifting device for automobiles manufactured by American Chain Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The advertisement's humor comes from the caption: "Goodness, Daddy! You're Slow—The Car is Already Jacked Up!" The illustration shows a man manually changing a tire while a woman operates the chain-jack effortlessly, emphasizing the product's ease of use. The ad's selling point is that the device requires minimal physical effort—"It's Child's Play to Operate It"—allowing users to lift heavy cars by simply pulling a chain while standing upright. This represents early 20th-century marketing that combined practical innovation with gentle mockery of traditional manual labor.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Goodness, Daddy! You’re Slow—The Car is Already Jacked Up!” Weed Chain-Jack It’s Child’s Play to Operate It Simply a few easy pulls on its chain lifts or lowers the heaviest car while you stand | erect. Up or down—there’s no labor. ] | | | To operate a Weed Chain-Jack it is not necessary to get down ina | cramped, strained position and grovel in mud, grease or dust under a car to work a “handle” that is apt to fly up with unpleasant results, To lift car with the Weed Chain-Jack, simply give a few easy pulls on its end- less chain while you stand erect—clear from springs, tire carriers and other projections. To lower a car pull the chain in opposite direction. Never gets out of order. Gears and chain wheel protected by a stamped- steel housing. Chain heavily plated to prevent rusting. Has a strong cap, providing the kind of support from which an axle will not slip, while a broad base prevents the jack from upsetting on uneven roads. Quickly adjusted to any required height by lifting the screw and spin- ning the corrugated “collar” shown in the illustration. Try it yourself —you will never be satisfied with any other jack. 10 Days’ Trial It your dealer does not have them, send $5.00 for any size for pleasure cars or $10.00 for the Truck size, and we will send you one, all charges prepaid. For delivery in Cintds send $6.00 for any size for pleasure cars or $12.00 for the Truck size. [ry it 10 days, If not satisfied, return it to us and we will refund your money. The Jack That Saves Your Back ‘The 8 inch and 10 inch sizes are made with an nux- iliary step asillustrated, When inoperative position ‘this step adda two inches to the beight of the jack. American “= Chain @mpany,tnc. * Bridgeport,Connecticut In Canada DOMINION CHAIN CO.,Ltd. Niagara Falls,Ontario.