Life, 1921-10-13 · page 7 of 34
Life — October 13, 1921 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This six-panel comic satirizes a soundproofing scheme gone wrong. A person proposes using "cotton and a towel" to muffle noise from a neighboring room. The subsequent panels show escalating chaos: the cotton-stuffed walls become increasingly chaotic, eventually requiring the person to relocate their studio. The satire mocks both the original "great idea" (overly simplistic solutions to complex problems) and the consequences of not thinking through practical implications. The final panel's resignation—moving to a studio "next to the boiler shop"—suggests ironic defeat: trading one noise problem for a worse one. The humor relies on physical comedy and the universal experience of noise complaints in shared living spaces, making it timeless despite its early 20th-century setting.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
October 13 “How can a fellow work with yowling like that going on in the next room?” “This is a great idea, It’s won’erful what a little cotton and a “It's a great idea. Can't hear a sound. Might as well be stone towel will do.” deaf. Wonder I didn’t think of it sooner.” “Sorry I couldn’t get you on the phone this morning. I wanted to buy “That studio on the West Side next to the boiler shop will be your picture. Too late now—sailing for Europe in half an hour.” better than the one I’m leaving. comicbooks.com