Life, 1923-12-27 · page 29 of 37
Life — December 27, 1923 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page combines satirical humor pieces with a Lucky Strike cigarette advertisement. **Left Column Content:** Three separate humor pieces mock various subjects. "The Hack Humorist Takes Inventory" satirizes lazy comedy writers who recycle tired jokes and clichés. "The Protests of an Inoffensive Man" humorously depicts someone tolerant of holiday chaos but frustrated he can't open Christmas presents early. "Signs of Age" lists relatable indicators of aging (preferring fishing to hiking, adopting older children). **Advertisement (Right Side):** A Lucky Strike ad uses circular logic to promote cigarettes—claiming smokers never feel they've smoked "too much" because they lack that sensation, only feeling "satisfied but never sated." The advertisement's tagline promises "The Brand That Never Changes." **Historical Context:** This appears from the pre-1950s era when cigarette advertising was ubiquitous in mainstream publications and health warnings were absent. The ad's argument would strike modern readers as absurd or even darkly ironic given what we now know about tobacco addiction and health risks.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Hack Humorist Takes Inventory Jiem: one gross assorted tags (All second-hand) of speech, A dozen marketable gags To be derived from each. Jicm: an aphorism heard, Or read, some years ago, And by the changing of a word Made new—or nearly so. Jiom: the weakness of mankind ‘or laughing when it hears \ phrase that, empty to the mind, Yet titillates the ears. the gift of finding fun Where other men are bored; the knowledge that the pun s mightier than the sword. a tendency to jeer \t persons highly placed; a pillow-haunting fear Of writing in bad taste. some jokes, a motley grist, » sell, or give, or lend; a memory . . . My list Has almost reached its end. What am I offered for the pile? I'll cling to this alone :— nn: one slightly wistful smile— \ poor thing, but my own. S.K. The Protests of an Inoffensive Man I am a mild person of simple wants and kindly disposition, conceding to everybody the privilege of making him- self uncomfortable during the holidays his own way. Those who wish to visit their relatives, even their relatives marriage, may do so without censure irom me. I find myself able to tolerate even those who go around peaceful suburbs, disturbing the rest of sleeping citizens by singing carols before dawn on Christmas. There is no form of Yuletide aberration I rebuke, not even original poems on greeting cards. Therefore, I feel that in return I should permitted, unchallenged and with- out cutting remarks, to open my Christ- mas packages, if any, in advance. McC. H. Signs of Age WHEN your wife suggests that you go abroad without her. When you would like to serve on the Grand Jury. When the trails seem rough and you would rather fish anyway. When you're allowed a second look at the last trick. When you would like to adopt a forty- year-old daughter. One Lucky Strike Leads to Another O man who smokes LUCKY STRIKES ever feels that he has smoked too much. He is satis- fied but never sated. He finds that the Toasted Process produces a flavor mild enough to becontinuously enjoyed. He doesn’t have to debate whether or not he ought to have another one, because he knows from experience that even if, in his private opinion, he sometimes smokes too many, he never has the sense of having smoked too much. o7 ou CHANGE TO THE BRAND THAT NEVER CHANGES STRIKE ITS TOASTED comicbooks.com