Life, 1924-09-18 · page 15 of 36
Life — September 18, 1924 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several satirical pieces typical of Life magazine's humor: **"If Kipling Were a Newspaper Reporter"** parodies Rudyard Kipling's literary style by applying it to mundane celebrity news—the Prince of Wales's visit. The joke satirizes how reporters sensationalize routine events. **"Fixing the Blame"** is a brief dialogue joke about a couple married ten years without hiring lawyers, mocking the frequency of divorce in that era. **"Mnemonics Unmasked"** explains memory techniques for remembering names and numbers—practical advice presented as insider secrets. The example about "Addison Sims of Seattle" demonstrates how mental associations work. The cartoon below shows a man with a complex mental map for navigation, satirizing overwrought problem-solving methods. Overall, the page humorously addresses early 20th-century concerns about celebrity culture, marital instability, and modern urban life.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
* LIFE if Kipling Were a Newspaper Reporter AY, friend, what's all the shootin’ for?” asked Simp- on-Parade. The Prince of Wales is coming here,” the Cub Reporter said. An’ what's he comin’ over for?” asked Simp-on- Parade. A pleasure tour; a pleasure tour,” the Cub Reporter said. “His butler’s packed his toothbrush and his fifty pairs of boots; He's only bringin’ thirty hats and ecighty-seven suits, For he’s coming quite informal for the autumn bison shoots And he's leaving for Long Island in the morning.” Why all the motorcycle cops?” asked Simp-on-Parade. To keep him quite incognito,” the Cub Reporter said. And why the sixteen aides-de-camp?” asked Simp-on- Parade. To help him dodge publicity,” the Cub Reporter said. “For he’s making just a personal and unofficial call Which has not the least connection with the ongtong cor-jeeawl (Or any other reason they may hand you for a stall) And he's leaving for Long Island in the morning. Baron Ireland. Fixing the Blame TTY: How long have you and Daddy been married? Motter: Ten years, darling “You two haven't very good lawyers, have you?” TUDY of Latin is becoming more popular in the schools and colleges, teachers report. The pupils are evidently beginning to realize its value in solving the Sunday cross- word puzzles. “WILLIE, WHY AKE YOU FEEDING THE CAT BIRDSEE “YM NOT FEEDING THE CAT; I'M FEEDING THE CANARY,” Mnemonics Unmasked A "TER the system has been explained one no longer wonders how that man ever managed to remember Mr. Addison Sims of Seattle. It is all so simple; almost too simple. The secret is association of ideas. One meets Mr. Sims and at once casts about for a word to associate with his name. A vapid face, one notes. It comes instantly. Why, “simp,” of course. So simple Then he mentions that his daughter was married a short while before. The That prefixes him, Seattle? It’s too easy; one simply thinks of Tacoma. Or telephone numbers, always so difficult for the un- initiate. For example, a telephone number is “Main cighty-two, > difficulty at all merely thinks: Zighty-third Street association is obvious Id-i-son. Streets place them, or sizes. seven.” remembering it, One and Ninety-sixth Street—subtract one and add one.” One must never think of Ejighty- second Street and Ninety-seventh Street in the first place. That would not be mnemonics; it would be mere memory. An objection sometimes made against this method is that one may live in a town where street numbers do not run so high. The solution is simple: move to a larger city. The system itself is almost infallible. All one has to do is to remember what- ever it is one associated mentally with whatever it was one determined to re- member. James K. McGuinness. IFE isn't all beer and skittles, to be MENTAL ROAD MAP TO HIS NEXT OBJECTIVE. sure. Few of us have touched a genuine, pre-war skittle for years, comicbooks.com