Life, 1924-12-18 · page 31 of 37
Life — December 18, 1924 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two distinct elements: **Left side - "Ballad of a Three-Letter Word Meaning 'Lunatic'"**: A satirical poem mocking the crossword puzzle craze of the 1920s-30s. The elderly narrator describes becoming obsessed with crossword solving after being shipwrecked, eventually going mad searching for obscure three-letter words. The humor targets how addictive and mentally consuming these puzzles had become—a genuine cultural phenomenon of the era. **Right side - Advertisements**: The bulk of the page features a Bayer Aspirin ad (emphasizing the "Bayer Cross" trademark and warning against counterfeits) and a promotion for "Skippy: His Book," a children's collection by artist Percy L. Crosby featuring the popular comic strip character. The page reflects Life's formula: satirical literary content alongside period advertising. The crossword satire suggests these puzzles were widely mocked as an intellectual obsession among Americans, while the ads reflect early 20th-century consumer culture and brand-name awareness.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Ballad of a Three-Letter Word . i enuine I met a very aged man IPN {-raving by a gate; “[ was marooned—" quoth he, “ma- As% rooned—" (Alas, it was too late.) \en were my eyes like the fairy-flax When I was wrecked at sea, [but oh! I'd took that Crossword Book To keep me company. <a Undictionaried and alone On that barbaric sod The verb ‘to be’ was pie for me | sais Bonin ae SAY “BAYER ASPIRIN’ and INSIST! And ere a hermit week had passed The answers were all dor Unless you see the “Bayer Cross” on tablets you are yelept, each word excent not getting the genuine Bayer Aspirin proved safe by millions and prescribed by physicians 24 years for only one. came ad lib—oh, I was glib Bayersrets Colds meaiiabhe With ‘emu,’ ‘auk’ and ‘roc.’ ASOT Pain Neuralgia sors 00" Toothache Lumbago t a wrench, Nor was outlucked by ‘usufruct,” ge ‘ Or phrases from the French. Neuritis Rheumatism re Alle —_ “ ” . . en las, there was an unfilled space Accept only “‘Bayer’”’ package which contains proven directions. . an unknown word Handy “Bayer” boxes cf 12 tablets—Also bottles of 24 and 100—Druggists. 1 letters two—I never knew Aspirin is the trade mark of Bayer Manufacture of Monoaceticacidester of Salicylicactd That Jugo-Slaviec bird... —— = And now I'm wan and worn, and wear A seven-letter beard— rant and howl still that fowl, That bird has appeared. s always ‘cel.’ Hear my \ bird is what I wish... d I'd fied that aged man \ gate, help him find ALL the joyousness of childhood’s snappy hour is or too late. here distilled by Perey L. Crosby, the artist who put life into Skippy and Skippy into Lire. d things of air T thought. The Skippy Book contains over one hundred and fifty of Crosby’s best drawings, dramatizing the antics of this irrepressible and adorable youngster. By all odds the merriest book of the Christmas season. Some one in your household is sure to be disappointed Grandma's Cigarette if you don’t get the Skippy Book. Coxsinerate Conpuctor: Madam. Order It Now that is the smoking car. Experty Lapy: Thank you so much The Skippy Book is —that’s what I'm looking for. Shiainable atyour bookseller's or from . . Noxe of the mythical elevens picked Lire, Price, prepaid—$2.00 this year did justice to the husbands 598 Madison Avenue, who got the family car parked before New York. the game was over. comicbooks.com