Life — October 8, 1925 — page 19: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a political cartoon satirizing Prohibition-era hypocrisy. The image depicts an ostrich with its head buried in sand—a visual metaphor for willful ignorance. The caption reads: "The Prohibition Ostrich: as far as I can see, the country is drier than ever." The joke critiques government and public officials who claimed Prohibition was succeeding while ignoring obvious evidence of widespread illegal alcohol consumption. Like the ostrich burying its head, authorities pretended not to see the reality of bootlegging, speakeasies, and continued drinking—hence "drier than ever" is clearly false. This reflects widespread contemporary skepticism about whether Prohibition was actually working, despite official pronouncements of success.