Life, 1924-08-14 · page 10 of 36
Life — August 14, 1924 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents a humorous timeline showing how laughter and humor have evolved across human history. Each panel satirizes a different era: - **50000 B.C.**: Primitive humans discovering laughter while observing animals - **950 B.C.**: King Solomon confronted about his many wives (biblical reference) - **800 B.C.**: Egyptian women debating book preferences as a birthday gift - **218 B.C.**: Roman Hick seeing Hannibal's elephants for the first time - **450 A.D.**: St. Patrick and St. Michael joking about hanging Murphy as a lesson The cartoons use anachronistic humor—applying modern sensibilities and concerns (like birthday gifts, wives' jealousy) to ancient times. The satire suggests that human nature and comedic instincts remain constant across millennia, even as civilizations change.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Outline of Humor— EVE DISCOVERS LAUGHTER, THEREBY DEMONSTRATING THE supERIoRITY OF Homo Sapiens over THE DUMB BEASTS OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. Courtier: WHO WERE THOSE LADIES I SEEN YOU WITH First Egyptian Maiden: 1 CAN'T DECIDE WHAT TO LAST NIGHT? GIVE ISIS FOR A BIRTHDAY PRES! DO YOU THINK ir pelt King Solomon (with a THOSE WEREN'T NO SHE'D LIKE A BOO! LADIES—THOSE W MY WIVES. Second Ditto: No; sue’s GOT A BOOK. Roman Hick (seeing Hannibal's elephants for the first St. Patrick: BEGORRA TO YE, MOIKE, AND DID YE KNOW time): YE CAN’T FOOL me—THEY ALN’T NO SéCH THAT MURPHY WAS HANGED? ANIMULE! St. Michael: weyappers TO YE, PAT, AN’ THOT'LL BF. A GREAT LESSON TO HIM, comicbooks.com