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Life, 1924-10-09 · page 31 of 36

Life — October 9, 1924 — page 31: what you’re looking at

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Life — October 9, 1924 — page 31: Life, 1924-10-09

What you’re looking at

This page combines a satirical essay with period advertisements. The main article, "Strangers in a Strange Land" by B.F., satirizes affluent American tourists returning from Europe in autumn. The satire targets their affectation: they've picked up French and Italian phrases ("honi soit qui mal y pense," "le mot juste," "Firenze," "Roma") and now sprinkle them into conversation to appear cultured. The joke is that this performative sophistication creates awkward social moments—either the speaker receives overly enthusiastic applause (exposing pretension) or uncomfortable silence (revealing the listener's incomprehension). The essay mocks both the tourists' linguistic insecurity and American society's class anxiety around European sophistication. The page is otherwise dominated by product advertisements typical of the era: Pepsodent toothpaste, a ukulele offer, trouser supports for bow-legged men, and a "Famous Cats" humor column. These ads reflect 1920s consumer culture and domestic concerns.

📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Strangers in a Strange Land Now is the time when foreign hrases spoken on the stage come into heir own. At other es of the ar they prove embarrassing, not from ing comprehended, as one might ex- ct, but from there always being in ery audience a few benighted souls ho have to admit that they don't derstand a word, and whose embar- ssment is contagious. Foreign phrases ist be reecived in one of two ways: ther with riotous applause (showing © rest of the theatre that one is a guist), or with a wan smile (show- g the rest of the theatre that one is disgrace). At other times of the year ¢ applause is invariably heavily inter- ersed with agonized blanks where a retching of the lips is all that can be anted to the witticism; now these inks will be negligible, and honi soit si mal y pense will receive its prod- al distinction. Now is the time of vans and lifts dl wagons lits; of Piccadilly Circus, id the Champs-Elysées, and the Bois; f oc liners referred to as familiarly s Fifth and of forgetfully urning to the left in traffic; of le mot ste, incapable of being found in Eng- sh; of Firenze, which means Florence, ind Roma, which means Rome; of *rench, Spanish and Italian waiters cing addressed in their native tongue nd being overtipped if they can man- ige to summon enough of that lan- uage to invent a suitable reply. For it is autumn, and the European ourists coming back to us are once nore trying to pick up enough English ) make their wants comprehensible. B.F. Avenue It’s a wise crack that knows its own wuthor. ERRY & CO., 3224N. Halsted St., Dept 2407, Chicago, Ill BOW, LEGS? Makes Trousers “Hang Straight If Legs Bend In or Out. Self Adjostabie, It Holds Sox Up—Shirt Down “Porm” ot a “Marnen”. No Metal Springs Free Booklet—Plais Sealed Eavelope THE T. GARTER Co. ‘Dept. 28 South Bend, Indiana KOBLER AIR AND WATER PEARL PIPE %.50. All smokers may ask for free literature. ‘Kobles & Ce, Ine, $94 26th St, Guttenberg, West New York, MJ. You Men Owe to yourselves these whiter teeth You know that whiter teeth are possible, for you see them every- where today. Millions attain them through a new method of teeth cleaning. Accept this test and in ten days note what it means to you. Film is unclean That viscous film you feel on teeth is what clouds them and destroys them. Under old-way brushing much of it clings and stays. It becomes discolored, forms dingy coats, hides the luster of the teeth. Film also holds food substance which ferments and forms acid. It holds the acid in contact with the teeth to cause decay. Germs breed by millionsin it. They, with tartar, are the chief cause of pyorrhea. Few escape those trou- bles when they clean teeth in the old ways. grit Pepsadéent “psocen’ New-Day Dentifrice Based on modern research. Now advised by leading dentists the world over. CUT OUT THE COUPON NOW Protect the Enamel Pepsodent disin- tegrates the film, then removes it with an agent far softer than enamel, Never use a film combatant which contains barsh Dental science has now found two ways to fight that film. One disintegrates the film, one removes it without harmful scouring. Able authorities have proved these methods effective. So a new-type tooth paste has been created to apply them daily. The name is Pepsodent. Careful people of some so nations now employ it daily, largely through dental advice, The unique results Pepsodent also multiplies the alkalinity of the saliva, also its starch digestant. Thus those great natural tooth-protecting factors gain much added power. These combined results bring to users a new dental era. Send the coupon for a test. Note how clean the teeth feel after using. Mark the absence of the viscous film. See how teeth become whiter as the film-coats disappear. You will always be glad that you made this test. Cut out coupon now, 10-DAY TUBE FREE Dept. 327, 1104 S. Mail 10-Day Tube of Pepsodent to Famous Cats Hexrt —— The ——'s pajamas Carrie Chapman —— In a —"s hind pocket Powerful —— inka The ——'s Arts —— 0’ nine tails —h as ——ch can The book of eti—— Krazy —— Puss in Boots. H.W. H. Mrs. Lorcnette: How is your new maid getting along? Mrs. De Gos: Splendidly—she eloped with my husband this morning. “LT SHALL GO AND CALL MAMA, MADAM. ONLY YOU MUST NOT MIND WHAT MY SISTER MAY SAY TO YOU, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, SHE SAYS EXACTLY WHAT SHE THINKS.” —L’Echo de Paris. comicbooks.com