Life, 1925-06-11 · page 22 of 36
Life — June 11, 1925 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three separate humorous pieces satirizing 1920s American culture: 1. **"Not an Accident"** (top cartoon): Shows a man with a decrepit second-hand car being told its problems by a buyer. The joke plays on the definition below: an "optimist" is someone foolish enough to buy a used Ford—implying Fords are notoriously unreliable vehicles. 2. **"Ask Dad"**: A father jokes that buying a second-hand Ford requires optimism, reinforcing the running gag about Ford reliability. 3. **"The Thrill Resilient"**: A light exchange about horseback riding's appeal. 4. **"The Literary Worm Turns"**: A humorous letter rejecting Life magazine itself—praising its quality while refusing it for unclear reasons. The irony is the author admits it's excellent but must return it anyway. 5. **"Mars Gets in Touch with Mother Earth"**: Scientists on Mars successfully radio Earth only to receive jazz music, pop songs about romance, and crime headlines. The satire mocks 1920s popular culture as lowbrow "barbarian" entertainment unworthy of alien contact, contrasting with serious scientific aspiration.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
NOT AN ACCIDENT A MAN WITH A SECOND-HAND CAR TO SELL IAS JUST BEEN TOLD WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH IT BY A PROSPECTIVE BUYER Ask Dad : In case you should ever want to know, my boy—and_ the chances are you won't,—an optimist is a man who buys a second-hand Ford. “pon’T MIND THAT! The Thrill Resilient NNA:;: And how do you enjoy your horseback ridin Bette: Well, it certainly keeps you up in the open air. STEP ON IT!” The Literary Worm Tums EAR SIR: Your magazine has had A very careful reading; And yet (it makes me feel so sad, My heart is almost bleeding), I've got to send it back to you, Because, dear sir, it will not do. It doesn’t meet my present need Although I'm not denying That it’s just what I ought to read And what I should be buying There’s not a thing its pages lack Yet I'm compelled to send it back The make-up's great, the fiction’s grand, The verse inspires reflection. So naught’s implied, you understand By this polite rejection. Some rival reader, I've no doubt Will get what I must go without Perey Waxman Mars Gets in Touch with Mother Earth HE most eminent scientists on Mars had been experimenting for cer ries with gigantic radio machinery i order to get in direct communication with Mother Earth, Success had at last crowned their efforts, At first the words came indistinctly, then slightly clarified, and finally clear as a bell. The aged wonder men of Mars then sat back to hear what Mother Earth had to say for herself, their pencils poised to record the results to an anxious Martian world. And this is what they heard: “Those Red-Hot Mama Blues.” “Hot Papa, Mama’s Cold as Ice.” ‘Lover kills girl who spurned him.” This stuff just came off the boat.” f you can’t kiss mama every ni you better not come home.” The scientists looked at puzzled, to say the least. “Can it be our ears deceive us?” asked one. “No,” replied another, “the Earth is passing through the jazz or silly a we passed through ten thousand year ago. There's nothing we can from the barbarians. Let's tune in on Saturn. I understand they're broad- casting a talk on “How Two Can Live as Cheaply as One.” Nat N. Dorfman. DD SIMILE in a mov ach other —As idle as a book star’s library. comicbooks.com