Life, 1925-11-05 · page 22 of 50
Life — November 5, 1925 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several short satirical pieces typical of 1920s Life magazine humor: **"From a Club Chair"** comprises witty, disconnected social observations—noting women showing knees (post-flapper era), suspicion of "discreet" men, and comparisons of modern life (taxi driving) to supposedly hardy historical figures. **"Another Bobbed-Hair Bandit"** references the actual 1920s crime phenomenon: young women criminals, often bobbed-haired, who robbed gas stations. The illustration shows a stereotypical female criminal. **"All Rights Reserved"** satirizes pulp fiction editors seeking sensational stories. **"The Little Red Postage Stamp Schoolhouse"** mocks correspondence school romance and the "sheik" slang (popularized by Valentino films). **"Bus Chatter"** satirizes shallow social observation—two women judge a man's character entirely by whether he makes direct eye contact, missing deeper truths. **"Chronic"** offers a final joke: elevator passengers complain about *speed* rather than the catastrophic accident itself—satirizing modern complaints and priorities. The humor reflects post-WWI American anxieties about changing social norms, modern technology, and superficial judgment.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
14 From a Club Chair WONDER whether the reason pre- vious generations of women did not show their knees was that they were too modest, or that scrubbing their own floors made it inadvisable. eee Nobody is so thoroughly suspect as the discreet man. oes Discussions of a future war scem premature, when the country has such a small reserve of spurs. see The greatest conservative in the world is Old Bjunks, over there. He has dealt with the same bootlegger for two years. eee If a man appears sheepish when you encounter him coming out of a florist’s, you may safely assume that your sus- picions are unjust. If he is thor- oughly self-possessed, however—— eee Perhaps we lose perspective when we muse on the virility of other days. How many pony express riders, do you think, would be equal to the strain of driving a taxicab in any large city? eee Destiny, for most of us, is some- thing we have to meet by the first of the month, James Kevin McGuinness. see let ANOTHER BOBBED-HAIK BANDIT All Rights Reserved DITOR oF Terrible Tales (to stenographer): Write this fellow Jones and tell him to drop in and see me. He's got an original situation in this story and I want to make a three- year’s contract for it. “H’*S she kept her youthful figure?” “Kept it? She's doubled it!” Cracksman (to educated woodpecker): attaBoy, woopy ! DON'T NOW WHAT I'D DO WITHOUT YoU. The Little Red Postage Stamp Schoolhouse SCHOOL days, school days, dear old correspondence school days, Business Management and Higher Ac- countancy and Aeronautics, Taught to the tune of a stamp you lick. You were my queen in crépe de Chine, I was your sheik in a tin machine, When you wrote on my cigarette case, “Clip coupons, old Bean,” When we were a couple of morons. A. G. L. Bus Chatter “WELL, I suppose he is terribly clever but I just wouldn't admi* that I liked him—that is, really liked him. His eyes were altogether too shifty and uncertain for me. He simply never looked straight at you.” “That's just what I told Everett. 1 said, ‘He may be a genius and all that but his eyes are queer. They aren't steady and he seems to look over your head when he’s talking to you.” “Isn't it too funny that we should both notice it? Griswold said I was a cat to say what I did and that I didn't know what I was talking about: But you know Griswold. As a matter of fact, my dear, I always notice a person's eyes the very first thing and if they aren't steady I simply don't like that person.” “That's just the way with me. I don't care if a man hasn't a decent suit of clothes to his back, if he looks me straight in the eye when he’s talk- ing to me, I like him right away and sorta have confidence in him. Don't you feel that way?” “I certainly do but I'll never have any confidence in this man. He's prob- ably brilliant Lut his eyes were never still a minute and so shifty.” “Yes, and so uncertain. You can't tell me—there’s always something wrong with a person who can’t look you straight in the cye. I never knew it to fail.” “Neither did I. Never.” C. Knapp. Chronic GTREET: The elevator in the Sky- high Building fell fifteen stories to- day. Curs: What happened? Street: The passengers complained of the slow service! comicbooks.com