Life, 1924-09-11 · page 15 of 36
Life — September 11, 1924 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical piece mocks the spread of exaggerated or false claims about elephants. The page collects various humorous "hearsay" statements—such as that elephants are enormous, afraid of mice, or that their noses were historically small—presented as folklore or rumor. The satire targets how misinformation propagates: claims are repeated as fact without verification (one panel references "a nearsighted farmer vowed" something "that 'twould never grow good oats"). The piece appears to mock credulous acceptance of tall tales and the way unverified claims become accepted "wisdom." The bottom panel showing elephants in a line suggests the herd mentality involved in spreading such rumors. It's a lighthearted commentary on human tendency to believe and repeat unverified information—relevant to any era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
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