Life, 1924-12-04 · page 15 of 72
Life — December 4, 1924 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two cartoon jokes: **Top cartoon**: A country ticket agent responds to a passenger's question about train whistling by claiming he was "doin' a bit of whistlin' myself." The humor relies on the agent's evasive, implausible response—suggesting he was making noise to cover up the train's actual whistling, a common deflection tactic. **Bottom cartoon**: Father Bear scolds his family for letting Goldilocks escape and then filling "all the squares in our crossword puzzle book." This is a Goldilocks reference playing on the then-popular activity of crossword puzzles. The joke's humor comes from the absurd complaint that the child filled in their puzzle book—a petty grievance compared to the intruder's larger transgression. Both are lighthearted domestic/everyday humor typical of early 20th-century satirical magazines.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Passenger: WAS THAT THE TRAIN WHISTLING? Agent: WARD TO TELL, MISTER, I WAS DOIN’ A BIT OF WIISTLIN’ MYSELF. sswanltecta Father Bear: 1 TOLD YOU WE DID WRONG TO LET GOLDILOCKS GET AWAY. NOW SEE WHAT SHE HAS DONE—GONE AND FILLED IN ALL THE SQUARES IN OUR CROSSWORD PUZZLE BOOK! comicbooks.com