Life, 1919-06-12 · page 37 of 46
Life — June 12, 1919 — page 37: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising**, not political satire. The main content is a Pepsodent toothpaste advertisement (1920s era) claiming a scientific breakthrough: a new dentifrice containing "pepsin" that dissolves bacterial film on teeth. The advertisement's pitch to modern readers appears quaint: it promises that most tooth decay results from a "slimy, clinging film" that ordinary brushing cannot remove. The solution is Pepsodent's "activated pepsin," endorsed by dental authorities. The left column contains a romantic poem ("The Desert of Wheat" by Zane Grey) about a German-American farmer's son during WWI—likely patriotic wartime content unrelated to the ad. At the bottom, there's a brief cartoon captioned "Doughboy" featuring a soldier's quip about being called "Slats" and "Skinny," a casual WWI-era humor bit. The page reflects early 20th-century advertising's invocation of "scientific" claims to sell consumer products, a practice that would later face regulation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
nly seven one ai 1) know, ly. Hox uur apart ir baths. r husband We shal with 1 undred 2 1 suit me. ( Rising, ess witl er notify (Esto i oodness jate wid itelock s AERIA AEP 1053 Rhyemed Reviews The Desert staf Wheat gy Zone Grey. Harper & Bros.) RN, a German farmer's son, foith and loyalty were stain cat in Washington y and nearly rainless. Was raising » Os vplands « ruitful acres rolled, ssed its evil forces re bribed with German Bot where | To spoil the Nation's food resources. They burned she wheat! Yet Kurt, de Ms 9 The plots of fiendish agitators Acd cadgels, guns and dynamite, Repelled the mob of tramps and traitor While Vigi stern of soul, Treason, purged with cad of him who stole lord's daugh wed by sweet Lenore, » sufficed to win him, t German blood was in ey called him “ Demon on War were much like one crimson morn netting squads of Germans Aad home To die And Kurt « Wh ney sent him, full of lead, it Love defied the surgeons, i sweet Lenore are wed ere cwn sativum burgeons. For Kurt In over To bayone ugh likely, now and th ought imagination, s Huns ag. vheat to feed Creation! Arthur Guiterman, Is raisin, Doughboy: yes, THEY CALLED ME SLATS, roves SKINNY IN MY REGIMENT. NTE Dib MY RIT, 1 MADE MANY A HUN SSIFEK WASTE A BUNCH OF AMMUNITION RMNG To GET Me, acid. If You Brush Teeth Brush Them Well All Statements Approved by High Dental Authorities Don’t Leave the Film Millions of people who brush teeth daily leave a tooth-destroying film. They find in time that teeth discolor and decay. Tar- tar forms on them, perhaps pyorrhea starts. And they wonder why. The reason lies in a film—a slimy, cling- ing film. You can feel it with your tongue. pS gets into crevices, hardens and stays. | There the tooth brush can’t remove it, and | the ordinary dentifrice cannot dissolve it. That film is what discolors—not the teeth. It is the basis of tartar. It holds food substance which ferments and forms It holds the acid in contact with the teeth to cause decay. Dentists call it “bacterial plaque,” be- | cause millions of germs breed in it. They, with tartar, are the chief cause of pyorrhea. See the Ask us for this trial tube, then see for yourself the difference between old methods and the new. It will be a revelation, Pepsodent is based on pepsin, the digestant of albumin, The film is albuminoas matter. The object of Pepsodent is to dissolve it, then to day by day combat it. Pepsin alone is inert. It must be activated, and the usual method is an acid harmful to the teeth. So pepsin long seerned barred. But now a harm- less activating method has been found. Five gov- ernments have already granted patents. It is that method, used in Pepsodent, which opens up this new teeth cleaning era. Pepsadéen PAT.OFF. The NeeINy. Dentifrice A acientific tooth pas © based on activated An efficient film ‘combatane now endorsed by den: ists everywhere and sold by druggists in Targe tubes. Thus most tooth troubles are now traced to that film. Dental science has for years sought a way to end that film. The tooth brush had proved inadequate. Tooth troubles constantly increased. And the reason clearly lay in that film. A new discovery has now solved this greatest of tooth problems. That film can now be efficiently combated. Able author- ities have proved the facts by scientific tests. Leading dentists all over America are now urging its adoption. Now this method is embodied in a denti- frice called Pepsodent. And to let all peo- ple prove it quickly we are offering a free ten-day test. Difference Dentists and scientists are now using Pepsodent —many thousands of them. At least a million careful people have adopted it already It is time that you knew what it means to you and what it means to yours. Send the coupon for a 10-Day Tube. Use it like any tooth paste. Note how clean the teeth feel after using. Mark the absence of the slimy film. See how the teeth whiten as the fixed film dis- appears, Watch the results for ten days, Read the rea- sons in the book we send, Then decide for your- self about this new way of teeth cleaning. Cut out the coupon now. Ten-Day Tube Free THE PEPSODENT CO., Dept, $81, 1104 8, Wabash Ave., Chicago, Ill Mail Ten-Day Tube of Pepsodent to Name psin. Address 188), comicbooks.com,