Life, 1921-12-15 · page 25 of 34
Life — December 15, 1921 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains satirical commentary on two different social issues: **"Around the Library Lamp"** (top section) mocks pretentious home education by listing absurdly mixed questions—from practical queries ("Why put an egg in coffee?") to obscure literary references (Aristophanes' "Frogs"). The joke's punchline reveals this is mock-serious: proper answers can be found in a department store's basement, suggesting such lofty "discussion questions" are meaningless. **Bottom cartoon** satirizes profiteering during what appears to be wartime scarcity. A man holds a sign advertising "Two Dollars Fine for Feeding the Animals," while cynically warning a woman not to hold her baby near the cages—the implication being he's deliberately starving the animals to charge visitors for food. The cartoon criticizes callous exploitation of captive animals and visitors during economically difficult times, with the profiteer treating public welfare as a commercial opportunity. Both pieces attack pretension and greed respectively.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Around the Library Lamp LIFE’S Questions and Comments for Home Discussion cribed to Poor Richard. Who was Poor Richard? Do you think he was right? . Why, in your opinion, does one put an egg in coffee? What is coffee? Does it grow in the ground or in the bean? Where is Ireland? What does Ireland want? Discuss the difference between Home Rule, Anthropomorphic Theism and Aristophanes’ “Frogs.” T! = saying, “A fool and his money are soon parted,” is Discuss the following statements: Four quarts make a Hon. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. The radii of a circle meet in the center of the circle. It is never too late to mend. The horse is a quadruped. Milton is a noted English poet. Tshe sun’s rays are hot. Brag is a but Scotch terriers have long hair. My aunt is of my uncle; her sister is my mother. Glass, when tapped with a hammer, usually breaks in several pieces. Who said “Give me liberty or give me death”? Was it conside seditious statement? Do you think it would isidered so now? What is libe Whose fore- rs fought for it? Did they get it? How do you Goldfish are kept constantly under water, and are fre- quentiy subjected to the association of tadpoles and snails. s cruel? Have you any suggestions for bettering conditions ? Assuming that it were possible, would you care to be a goldtish? Two goldfish? Why not? . The proper answers to these vital and interesting ques- tions will be found in the sub-basement of a popular New York department store. H.W. H. The profiteer’s son runs true to form. Bee DOELARS |! i] FINE FoR FEEO- © “Say, woman, d’ye see that sign? Well, then, if ye don’t want to be out two dollars don’t hold yer baby so close to the cages.” comicbooks.com