Life — July 21, 1921 — page 25: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains three unrelated jokes typical of early 20th-century American humor magazines: **Top left**: An old lady explains a child's wiggling by saying he swallowed a worm while eating an apple—a common folk explanation for fidgeting children. **Top right**: A man named Thompson is told his face is as plain as his nose, an insulting remark disguised as casual conversation. **Bottom**: Two women encounter a classical art exhibition or anatomy display. One exclaims they were supposed to be shopping for lingerie instead, creating humor through the juxtaposition of nude sculptures with ladies' undergarments shopping. The joke relies on Victorian-era modesty and the contrast between high art and everyday commerce. The cartoons mock social conventions and contain mild, family-friendly humor typical of the era.