Life — December 20, 1923 — page 13: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes skepticism about the proverb "the last straw will break the camel's back." The illustration shows a public demonstration or scientific test where observers (wearing top hats, suggesting gentlemen or scientists) watch as increasingly heavy weights are loaded onto a camel labeled with measurements (100 LB, 500 LB, 300 LB, etc.). A man operates weighing equipment while another directs proceedings with a megaphone. The satire targets those who doubt the validity of this common saying—the "skeptics" are literally testing whether the proverb holds true through empirical means. The cartoon mocks both excessive skepticism of folk wisdom and the era's faith in scientific demonstration to prove (or disprove) even obvious truths. The elaborate setup to test something commonly accepted as true is the joke's centerpiece.