Life, 1925-06-11 · page 5 of 36
Life — June 11, 1925 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main cartoon depicts two figures examining what appears to be reading material labeled "TRASH" and "RUB." One character asks "What are you reading, Paul?" with the response "Trash, old dear, nothing but trash!" This satirizes lowbrow or sensationalist publications of the era. The artwork style and composition suggest social commentary on reading habits and popular culture consumption among the working or middle classes. The dismissive tone—calling readable material "trash"—likely critiques both the publications themselves and readers' consumption of them. The page also contains humorous anecdotes about guinea pigs used in laboratory testing, playing on their role in medical research. The overall page mixes social satire with light humor typical of *Life* magazine's satirical approach to contemporary American society and class attitudes.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Guinea Pigs N the lee of the laboratory wall Where they get their daily rations, I heard the Guinea Pigs, great and small, Comparing inoculations. Said Guinea Pig One, as pert and vain sa girl in a hat from Paris, ‘our pardon, friends, if I seem insane, But I'm full of B. Vulgaris!” Said Guinea Pig Two, “You shortly see A paper with me for a basis, As the living and breathing epitome Of virulent B. Anthracis!” may Said Guinea Pig Three, “A mammoth debt ence of Medicine owes us! at me and the way I get With doses of B. Typhosus!” Then Guinea Pigs both of a lean effect And Guinea Pigs short and stocky Agreed. “We are all of the High Elect. For we're primed with Streptococci!” And I thought, “These Guinea Pigs surely love Their symptoms and sensations Like the hospital patients up above Comparing operations !” Arthur Guiterman. “You Can't Fool All of the People—" “STEP right up, ladies and gentle- men,” bawled the barker through a huge megaphone, “and sce the woman get sawed in two before your very eyes. All for the price of one dime, the tenth part of a dollar!” “Oh, well, I'll take a chance,” laughed the Crafty One to himself, “though, of course, it must be all a wise, they'd charge more.” Variant ED: How's your game? Ted: Just right. If it were any better, I'd give up business; and if it were any worse, I'd give up golf! I eC The Party Line “[T ITTLE Cal Wayoff’s mom left him to th’ barber shop while she went marketin’ an’ when his pop come in he chased th’ boy out. May Wayoff says she allus thought her man read th’ Police Gazette an’ now she's sure. “Pete Boyer’s not goin’ to put up a scarecrow this year. He says thet city gal that's boardin’ with them Greek dances in th’ fields. “Lizzie Ann Morse must expect her does “WHAT ARE YOU READI hoy'll be president some day, th’ way she makes him shake hands with every- m Stuke’s half-wit son's been tryin’ to learn his pop’s flivver to stand on its hind wheels an’ beg fer a quart ’ I says to Banker Ellis, ‘I've heerd tell of banks goin’ broke, like you say, but I never yet seed banker goin’ to th’ county almshou: James Kevin McGuinness, ‘G, PAUL?” “TRASH, OLD DEAR, NOTHING BUT TRASH!” comicbooks.com