Life, 1922-05-11 · page 13 of 38
Life — May 11, 1922 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes recreational activities people pursued on Sundays, when many businesses and entertainment venues were closed due to "Blue Laws" (religious restrictions). Each illustrated "sport" is a humorous workaround: - **Skylarking**: Rooftop activities replacing banned entertainment - **The Chase**: Pursuing wild geese as outdoor amusement - **Shooting**: Hunting to bypass Sabbath shooting restrictions - **Steeplechase**: Horse racing presented as truth-telling competition - **Big Game Hunting**: Hunting portrayed as absurdly difficult - **Trap-Shooting**: Modified sport due to cinema/alcohol bans The satire mocks how Blue Laws forced creative (often silly or dangerous) Sunday leisure activities. The accompanying verses use ironic tone to critique the absurdity of these legal restrictions on what Americans could do on weekends.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE Wild Sports for Blue Sundays + Skylarking Was heretofore a minor sport, But since the Blue Barrage, Its devotees must now resort To thrilling camouflage. Shooting No Nimrods will infest the wood— There won't be any trains. No Sabbath shooting can be good, Excepting shooting pains. Big Game Hunting Blind tigers, dodgers of the laws— And they aren’t big at all; They only seem that way because The hunters are so small. The Chase The Wild Goose Chase may still be done— A stupid inconsistence— And one may chase oneself—and one May lead a chaste existence. Steeplechase This gentleman is going some To purge the world of lies; Because of him this sport’s become Just what its name implies. Trap-Shooting To throw the bull; or shoot one’s trap On cinemas and cider; Except that now the awful gap Is opened somewhat wider. comicbooks.com