Life, 1920-08-26 · page 10 of 36
Life — August 26, 1920 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main illustration depicts a social gathering where Mr. Townsend is asked if he's "fond of birds and insects." The humor turns on his answer: he likes birds (properly cooked) but finds insects merely "scalded"—a crude joke treating insects as food. Below, "From Their Wives' Diaries" contains brief, domestic anecdotes mocking husbands. These include Mrs. Burns joking about her husband spending more time writing verses than working, Mrs. Newton describing her husband falling from a tree, and Lady Bacon claiming she actually wrote her husband's Shakespeare plays—absurdist humor deflating male pretension through female perspective. The second illustration shows a couple by the shore with romantic implications, captioned about a yacht and waves. The content reflects early 20th-century satirical humor targeting domestic life and gender dynamics.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“ARE YOU FOND OF BIRDS AND INSECTS, MR. TOWNSEND?” “ER—BIRDS, YES—PROPERLY COOKED. Reticence HIS learned I of a rose one summer day, That fluttered far its petals one by one: That we, as it, in our blind holden way, Oft hide our hearts until our day is done. From Their Wives’ Diaries RS. ROBERT BURNS: “Bobby spends more time writing’ verses than plowing fields! No wonder he’s a laughing-stock!" Mrs, Isaac Newton: “Ike came rush- ing home to say he saw an apple fall from a tree! I'm sorry it didn’t fall on his head!” Mrs. Plato: “My husband preaches about ‘Platonic affection.’ That's all very well, but I mean to keep my eyes open!” Lady Bacon: “Shakespeare says he wrote my husband's plays. That’s ab- surd! J wrote them!” Mrs. Claude Duval: “Claude ought to say in defense that he is a kleptomaniac!” Mrs. Ananias: “He began by telling me I was the first woman he had ever loved, as if he thought I didn’t know!” Mrs. Robert Fulton: “ Make a boat go by steam? Yes, but go—where?’” She: INSECTS—MERELY SCALDED—WELL, No!” Mrs. Peter Stuyvesant: “The only re- markable thing about Peter is his wooden leg!” Mrs. Heinrich Hudson: “ After having been away from home for months and months, Heinrich came back and said he had discovered a river!" Harold Seton. OH, MR, SLOW, SEE THE WAVES KISSING THAT YACHT AS SHE HUGS THE SHORE comicbook Seem