Life, 1922-01-05 · page 5 of 34
Life — January 5, 1922 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents satirical observations about American life and character types. The "creed" consists of nine humorous "beliefs" mocking various stereotypes: absent-minded professors, inept newlywed women, office boys, tramps, spinsters, boarding-house keepers, cat owners, chorus girls, and Irish immigrants. The accompanying illustration shows a social scene where a man (labeled "Milliner") proposes settling a bill with a woman (identified as "Miss Filmer," apparently a movie star). His suggestion that they settle publicly "for the publicity for both of us" satirizes both the emerging film industry's obsession with publicity and the era's materialism. The humor relies on period stereotypes and observational comedy typical of Life magazine's early 20th-century satirical approach to American social habits.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Life The American Humorist’s Creed J Believe: That all professors are congenitally absent-minded. II That all young brides persist in baking hard, unpalatable biscuits, thereby causing their husbands intense discomfort. III That all office boys murder their grandmothers every year on the day the baseball season opens. IV That all tramps dread water more than they dread hell. V That all spinsters look under their beds every night in the hope that they will find one or more burglars there. ly i VI That all boarding-house keepers serve nothing but hash and prunes. . Vii That all persons who are annoyed by cats howling at night throw shoes at them. VII That all chorus girls go out to supper parties every eve- ning after the show and eat quantities of broiled live lobster. IX That all little boys spend their time asking their parents to define the difference between an optimist and a pessimist. D.¢ That all Irishmen preface their remarks with, “Bedad,” “Bejabbers,” or “Begorra,” and pronounce “sure” as though it were spelled “shure.” fe Chrence ewe Milliner: I wish you'd settle my bill, Miss Filmer. You don’t want me to bring suit, do you? Movie Star: Why not, my dear woman? Think of the publicity for both of us. comicbooks.com