Life — March 19, 1925 — page 22: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon by Gluyas Williams depicts two men on the steps of what appears to be a dentist's office (a sign reading "DENT" is visible on the door). The humor relies on a visual contrast: one man is entering the office with a composed, upright posture, while the other is leaving in a dramatically hunched, pained posture—teeth apparently clenched, leaning heavily on the railing. The joke is straightforward satire about dental visits: the contrast between a patient's demeanor before and after dental work. This reflects common anxieties about dentistry that were likely universal in this era. The cartoon title "Going and Coming" emphasizes this before-and-after transformation, playing on the physical toll of dental procedures as experienced by ordinary people.