Life, 1924-07-17 · page 35 of 36
Life — July 17, 1924 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This short story satirizes the social awkwardness of the era regarding **halitosis** (bad breath). A young female secretary dreads taking dictation from her attractive boss—not because of work itself, but because she suspects he has bad breath. The story plays on the period's social anxiety: polite society forbade directly mentioning such personal hygiene issues, leaving the woman trapped in embarrassed silence. The piece functions as advertising for **Listerine**, the mouthwash brand shown at page bottom. The narrative illustrates the product's social utility by depicting the very problem Listerine claimed to solve—undetectable bad breath that even "closest friends won't tell" you about. The other content includes sentimental poetry ("Grief") about lost romance and humorous commentary ("Summer's Little Drawback") mocking people who attend picnics. This is typical Life magazine content: mix of satire, verse, and advertising disguised as editorial material.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Grief (Upon Receiving an Old Lover's Wedding Announcement) Have you forgotten the scent of rain? The three-note whistle that spelled my urden where sweet-peas grew in a young little wind that sang so © you forgotten that perfect night 1. Where was ever a moon so ight?) the sky was a velvet jewel-case, « moon's long shadows were sh lace? oth flew by like a small white ith of us vowed that we loved the t magical night ina far-away June en old Life whistled a new love ine, e you f tten the green park seat, r the white bear's cage, where we ed to meet? ever had seemed either hard or I we said we'd buy it when we were ! d give it a gay new coat of paint keep it as our own household saint! Nh, the vows we made that we would be tray Vhen you loved me and I loved you! L wonder where promises go that die— To a vast blue land beyond the sky? dead little promises grow wing c. \nd fly about with never a care? sh, now whatever am T to do, ce the Gates of Marriage have closed on you? f now my husband is sure to say Don't talk to me about Peter : In love with you for the rest of his life! s soon as he could, he took a MLC. Summer's Little Drawback Ax impulse to avoid a picnic at any yst may be a sign that a man is get- ting old, but to give in and attend one ithout a struggle is proof of it Poison ivy is bad enough at any time. it to be led to it by friends with fixed miles, who like to get out into the voods and be kiddies again, should be snized as justification for homicide A favorite argument of picnic addicts is the fresh air. One can pay too dear- ly for. sound lungs. The dictation she dreaded E was an interesting man, too—a rapidly advancing young executive in employed. the business where she was Yet she dreaded taking his letters, There was something about it all that made his dictation a perfect ordeal and yet it was something that she could never have spoken to him about. And something, too, that he himself was probably uncon- scious of. yourself, y know when you have halitosis (un- casant breath). That's the in- sidious thing about it. And even your closest friends won't tell sometimes, . comes from some deep-se fessional advice. But usu and fortunately—halitosis is y a local condition that yields to the regular use of Listerine as a mouth wash and gle. It is an interesting thing that this well- known antiseptic that has been in use for years for surgical dressings, possesses these unusual properties as a breath deodor Test the remarkable deodoriz- ing effects of Listerine this way; Rub a little onion on your fingers Then apply Listerine and note how quickly the onion odor dis- appears. This safe and long-trusted an- tiseptic has dozens of different note the little circular that with every bottle. Your sells Listerine in the original brown package on three sizes: three ounce, seven ounce and fourteen ounce. Buy the large size for economy.— Lambert Pharmacal Company, Saint Louis, U. S. A. . Interesting news! Listerine Throat Tablet: containing the anti- septic oils of Listerine, are now available. * * While we frankly admit that no tablet or candy lozenge can deodorize the breath, the Listerine antiseptic oils in these tablets are very valuable as a relief for throat irritations, * * They are 25 cents a package. er HALITOSIS use LISTERINE comicbooks.com