Life, 1925-02-05 · page 25 of 36
Life — February 5, 1925 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three satirical pieces from 1920s Life magazine: **"What the Grand Canyon Is Really Filled With"** mocks consumerism and fad culture. It humorously lists trivial items supposedly accumulating in the Grand Canyon from 1905-1924—from mustache cups and bicycle pumps to mah jong sets and Prohibition-era beer steins. The final entry, "The Eighteenth Amendment," suggests that America's failed Prohibition experiment (1920-1933) is as disposable and forgettable as passing fads. **The taxi cartoons** appear to satirize either taxi shortages or overcharging ("TAXI?" appearing repeatedly suggests unavailability or the service's ubiquity). **"The Party Line"** uses rural gossip to comment on contemporary social issues: women's suffrage jokes, Prohibition raids ("raided another still"), marriage customs, and Irish immigration politics. The dialect humor targets small-town life. **"Declaration of Independence—1925"** jokes about modern youth rebellion: a daughter will marry a suitor only if her father disapproves, inverting traditional parental authority.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
= LIFE * What the Grand Canyon Is Really Filled With A Twenty-Year Summary S! RATUM of 1905—Mustache cups. “ 1906—One-lung bicycle pumps. “ 1907—Ping-Pong sets. “ 1908—Photographs “taken in an auto” at Coney Island. “ 1909—Turn-the-crank ments. “ 1910—Skull caps for college freshmen. 1911—Backdoor automobiles. “ 1912—“Peachbasket” hats for women. “ 1913—$28-a-month rent receipts. “ 1914—Bulldog pipes. “ 1915—Souvenir postcard albums. “ 1916—Free lunch. “1917—“Wacht am records. “ 1918—Manuscripts of equal suffrage jokes. “ 1919—Tinfoil saved during the war. “ 1920—Ouija boards. 1921—Collections of beer steins. 1922—De luxe editions of M. Coué. 1923—Mah Jong outfits. “ 1924—The Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. Tip Bliss. telephone — instru- Rhein" phonograph CAN'T YOU MAKE ROOM THERE? E AND I'LL DO A COUPLE OF REDUCING EXERCISES.” Straphanger: s. “YEH, WAIT A MINU SHINE The Party Line “QEEMS like th’ Legion ought to do somethin’ about Tom Murray sayin’ it was all right fer George Washington's paw, thet was rich, but he'd rather have his boy tell lies than chop down cherry trees. “Lizzie May Phelps is goin’ to th’ city to take voice, an’ Joe says now he can be sure when he hears them noises th’ dawg’s got hisself run over. “I hear Tim Murtha is refusin’ to pay poll tax on th’ grounds thet every one knows he comes from Ireland, not Poland. “Constable Trayfeld come home singin’ thet loud last night it's all over th’ county he must have raided another still. “Tessie Grough wanted ‘obey’ outen th’ marriage cere- mony, an’ she put it up to Fred Humber an’ he says, ‘I don’t care how they call it, long as you figure to take care on th’ chickens an’ milk th’ cows.’ “Cy Moon says what th’ United States really needs is a good road from Squash Holler to Maytown. “Barney Hull's antique business is thet good they’re work- in’ overtime down to his fact’ry this month. “I'm charitable-minded, but I got my own notions about a woman thet goes on powderin’ her face even after she's married, “I'd ast you over onny Joe hates to shake th’ furnace unlest fer strange company.” James K. McGuinness. Declaration of Independence—1925 “M**. I marry your daughter?” “Have you asked her yet?” “She said she would if you disapproved.” comicbooks.com