Life — July 19, 1923 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Spread of the Week-End" by Don Herold This satirical article critiques the American obsession with the "week-end" lifestyle. Herold argues that Thursday afternoons have become dedicated to mental recovery from work rather than actual work, making the weekend concept absurdly dominant in contemporary culture. The cartoon depicts a wealthy businessman ("The average employee") collapsing exhausted as he leaves work, suggesting that anticipation of the weekend ruins productive work time. The second cartoon shows a disheveled man boasting to a well-dressed companion about once being "down and out"—specifically after an airplane trip—mocking the frivolity of leisure activities among the privileged. Herold's satire targets how pervasive week-end culture had become across all social classes by the 1920s, affecting work ethic and attitudes toward labor itself.