Life, 1923-09-27 · page 8 of 36
Life — September 27, 1923 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two distinct satirical pieces: **"For Health Hunters"** (left): A humorous poem mocking Coué's "positive thinking" cure system, which was popular in the 1920s. The satire suggests that comparing one's ailments to animals' afflictions is absurd—a swordfish with the flu wouldn't sneeze, an elephant wouldn't have a trunk problem. The piece ridicules the pseudo-scientific self-improvement trend. **"Why He Left Home"** (right): A domestic cartoon showing Mrs. Hippo rushing her husband, saying she needs forty-five minutes for a quick shave. The humor relies on the visual absurdity of a hippopotamus and the exasperation of domestic life where a woman's grooming needs constantly delay their plans. Both pieces target contemporary foibles: pseudoscience and domestic friction.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE For Health Hunters s® MPRESSED by Coué’s cures, I have hit upon a plan To improve his simple system for the bene- fit of man. For his modus operandi is an abstract mental feat, Whereas effective fancy should be strikingly concrete. For ills (obnoxious word!) Prey on man and beast and bird, Hence a curative comparison is readily inferred. For instance, if you're suffering with chills from nose to knees, Just imagine if a swordfish caught the flue and had to sneeze! He might cut himself in two, Which would really never do! Or if ingrown hair should irritate and capillaries mix, Consider a poor porcupine in that kind of a fix! Why, he’d prick himself to bits After fifty-seven fits! Or supposing that a home-brew bloom illuminates your nose, Would an elephant strut proudly with a trunk of robust rose? Or if your neck is naughty and its stiffness you can't check, Contemplate the sad sea serpent who is nothing else but neck! For the jungle-fed giraffe, It would not be to laugh! If hysteria’s your weakness like the witches in “Macbeth,” Would hysterical hyenas quickly laugh themselves to death? If your corpulence increases at a rate extremely hig! Consider the same sorrow in the hippopotami! Should you find your color fading, your affliction’s not the worst; ; just imagine if the zebra should be similarly cursed! Should your elbows be rheumatic and you think it danger ous, Then what panic must bewilder a rheumatic octopus ! Such examples by the ream Can illustrate the theme Of curative comparison improving Coué’s scheme. But, concluding, let me s The uncopyrighted way To happiness, is simply: Earn and eat three a day! “squares” J BuR Why He Left Home YMPATHETIC LADY: You poor man, you must have seen better days. Tell me why you have no home Tramp: It was like this, mum. Me wife lost her job i: the Eagle Laundry and I couldn’t find another for her so I had to take up a rovin’ life. T is getting so that in order to succeed these days a fellow must keep his nose constantly to the grindstone. and a girl, hers to the powder-puff. ellen Mrs. Hippo: WURRY, HIPPY, WE'RE LATE NOW. “{ JUST HAVE TO TAKE A QUICK SHAVE, DARLING—BE RIGHT WITH YOU IN ABOUT FORTY-FIVE MINUTES.” comicbooks.com