Life, 1924-10-16 · page 27 of 36
Life — October 16, 1924 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two brief humorous pieces typical of *Life* magazine's satirical style. **"Travels of a Donkey"** mocks provincial American attitudes about cinema. The joke is that different cities sell different items in movie theaters—oranges in Paris, tea in London, Eskimo pie in Chicago, potato chips in Detroit, candy in New York. The humor lies in presenting these mundane concessions as exotic "queer customs" worthy of amazement, satirizing how Americans treat ordinary regional variations as if they were remarkable discoveries from world travel. The final punchline—that the writer previously thought only peanuts were sold in theaters—exaggerates this provincial ignorance. **"Man Overboard"** depicts a stereotypical drunk sailor who falls overboard but, in a comedic twist on heroic rescue narratives, confidently declares he'll rescue himself ("J'll save 'im!") despite being the one drowning. The satire plays on literary tropes of "ever-ready heroism" while subverting expectations through the sailor's inebriated perspective and malapropism ("Where'sh 'ish poor drownin' guy?"). Both pieces use exaggeration and understatement to mock conventional expectations.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Travels of a Donkey TeaveL is so broadening, isn’t it? © meets so many quaint people and s so many queer customs. Vould you believe it, in Paris nges are sold in the movies, \nd in London tea is served in the vies. in Chicago Eskimo pie is sold in the vies. » Detroit's movies you can buy to chips. 1 New York you can get candy m the backs of the seats and chew- gum from underneath the seats. a z } vid you ever hear of such queer | (| fi = Assembled in readiness ss? And isn’t travel wonderful? E =At fe IEC aa y. before I went to all those places, | F tas PEARL NECKLACES hought the only thing sold in the | »— a ies was peanuts! Woh. WwW. the greatest value a) “Man Overboard” f . = Vine ever-ready heroism is an-in- | J E DRE IC E RQ & CO ent and expected quality of the Z oat sailorman, we have just | [ é Rarts, Tewels, Precious Stones { a notable example which un- 560 FIFTH AVENUE stionably deserves a Carnegie medal. Mew York, FAN AN. RES Protect your gums and },. saveyour teeth UST as a ship needs the clos est attention under the water- line, so do the teeth under the gum-line. If the gums shrink from the tooth-base, serious dangers result. The teeth are weak. |. They are ened. They are exposed to tooth-base decay. The gums tender up. They form sacs which become the door- waysof. disease for the system They disfigure the Aiter a really enjoyable winter evening in a foreign port, a seaman, returning to his ship, staggered up the gangway, only to lurch just as he was about to take the final step, and topple into the icy ocean. Instantly the boatswain's shrill pipe hurried all hands on deck, as the word “Man overboard” was frantically passed. The lifeboat’s crew leaped to their perilous duty. Search- lights sizzled and shot weaving beams of white into the black night. A shower of life buoys was flung over. But the gallant sailor in the water grasped the whole situation thoroughly, and was equal to it. From the darkness and splashing came his cheery, confident guttural : “Hey! Where'sh ‘ish poor drownin’ guy? J’ll save "im!" ‘ATCH for the new $1,000.00 prize contest, an- nounced in Lire next week. THE FIVE O'CLOCK MALE comicbooks.com