Life — August 5, 1920 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This page is primarily a **Hires Root Beer advertisement** occupying most of the space. The illustration shows a woman teaching a child to pronounce "Hires," framed as wholesome instruction about a natural product made from "16 roots, barks, herbs and berries." On the right side is **"This Versatile World,"** a satirical poem commenting on contemporary 1920s issues: declining prices, presidential elections, the Daniels-Sims Prohibition debate, Senate politics, railroad strikes, and postal worker troubles. References to "Wilson in a hole" and Armenian/European matters suggest post-WWI context. The poem is cynical about economic conditions and political dysfunction, contrasting sharply with the earnest, family-friendly Hires ad beside it—a typical juxtaposition of serious social commentary with commercial content in Life magazine.