Life, 1923-08-02 · page 12 of 40
Life — August 2, 1923 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes Prohibition-era speakeasies and bootlegging. The illustration shows Mrs. Hippo asking about "toothbrushes" — a euphemism for illegal liquor. The small figure (likely a bootlegger or speakeasy operator) displays bottles in what appears to be a trash can, suggesting hidden or illicit alcohol sales disguised as legitimate goods. The caption's wordplay on "toothbrushes" reflects how Prohibition-era Americans used coded language to discuss contraband alcohol. The hippo characters represent ordinary citizens patronizing illegal establishments. The page's text references Rockefeller Institute germ research and Prohibition's liquor import limits, contextualizing the cartoon within contemporary debates about alcohol policy and law enforcement during the 1920s Prohibition era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Life Lines “FELLER gav sad of. dimes on his birth- day this year, He probably is saving up for an old age. aL Some of the liquor now being brought into this country is certainly the three-mile limit. JL There is nothing particularly new about the proposed presidential plat- form for Henry Ford—“No Place Like Home.” Only a few years ago the American people chose a similar one for Mr. Bryan. JL Professor Fisher, of Yale, has an- nounced that the phrase, “Yes, We is grammatically Have No Bananas,” correct. The authors of the song will there- fore be permitted to keep their royal- ties, after all. dL Now is the time for the various can- didates to try to enlist Hearst's sup- port—for their opponents. dL Germany, says the World, has made an offer containing the germ of a settlement. Referred to the Rockefeller Institute, Department of Germ Isolation, dL In view of the report that II, G Wells is coming to America to edit the Cosmopolitan Magazine, we ima- gine that Snappy Stories will put ina strong bid for the services of George Bernard Shaw. aL The most pitiable criminal in the world is the German who was ar- rested recently for manufacturing counterfeit marks. aL President Harding’s revised itinerary calls for a stop at New York on August 27th, after which he will set foot once more on American soil aL A good many of our more advanced thinkers have given up thinking the things they used to think because the things they used to think are no longer being thought. JL Song for the Shipping Board: The No, Myrtle, they don't call them DANCERS WE MEET id 1 3 ; bucket shops because they are con- , SAY HOP-ABOUT AND HIS UNEMo- Ships that Touch Liquor Shall Never stantly being bailed out. TIONAL WIFE. Touch Mine. Mrs, Hippo: HOW MUCH ARE THESE TOOTHBRUSHES? comicbooks.com