Life, 1920-07-08 · page 30 of 40
Life — July 8, 1920 — page 30: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two separate satirical pieces about marriage and politics. **"How Long They've Been Married"** (top): A humorous chronology listing various marital scenarios and their duration—for example, if a wife wants her husband to read aloud, they've been married one year; if he refuses to go out alone, under six months. The joke critiques how quickly romantic behavior deteriorates in marriage, using specific domestic situations as a timeline measuring tool. **The "LIFE" section** (bottom left): Lists impossibly contradictory situations (business man, chorus girl, President, etc.) all being "just one impossible situation after another"—likely satirizing how American life contains inherent contradictions. **The Senator Bulger cartoon** (bottom right): References an unnamed Senator's Congressional activity as producing "about eight million words"—satirizing verbose, unproductive political rhetoric. The dog cartoon (bottom) makes an obscure joke about a muzzle, context unclear from visible text. These pieces exemplify Life magazine's early 20th-century satirical approach: domestic mockery and political critique through brevity and absurdist humor.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
How Long a ve Been Palo Mami Cream. (A Base Attempt at an Approximate yourse Chronology) ‘al tube f F he wants her to read aloud and she will—one year. If she tries to make him go out alone in the evening, but he just won't—under six months, If she tries to make him stay home in the evening and he positively won't—five years. If he talks shop and she listens—under six months. If he says that her mother is “old darling” and her father a “brick ”—one week. If she says that she would like to know his family better—one week. If he insists that a friend come home to meet the “best little woman in the world "—one month. And then if he says, ‘0, no; I won't bother to ‘phone. The little lady will be tickled to death to see us”—one month or less. If she says that she would like to go through that fascinating factory of his— three months. If she actually goes—one month. If he is perfectly contented to sit right home by the fire—under one year or over ten, If she is perfectly contented as above— under one month. If she is wholly satisfied that the man she fell in love with is the man she mar- ried—a couple of weeks. If they play golf together, the full eighteen holes, and arrive at the club- house smiling—scandal; they aren’t mar- HIP-H1P-HOORAY ! ried at all. Hayward Bartlett. LIFE rater | “NYJHAT did Senator Bulger do in Con- To the gress?” Chorus girl Rolls-Royce Babe Ruth home run Amateur chemist raisin re League of Nations reservation This ach Members of Congress investigation Reformer indecent condition Scenario writer is just one impossible situation Housewife cook Golf player stroke President Cabinet member Movie comedian lemon pie Child laborer labor hour Bolshevik defective bomb General public expense after another, Bastiess nian eawares “About eight million words.” | | \ f on ‘ eens ‘ . . “Gre! 1 WONDER WHY THEY PUT SUCH A BIG MUZZLE Woman is like a timetable. She is subject to change without notice. e comicbook Mies |