Life, 1926-01-07 · page 11 of 40
Life — January 7, 1926 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the challenges of parallel parking in the early automobile era. The top illustration shows a chaotic scene with multiple dogs literally piled onto a car—a visual pun on "putting on a lot of dog" (slang for showing off). The main story describes a protagonist's increasingly complicated attempts to park, following increasingly absurd instructions from a mechanic. The humor builds through mounting frustration and failed maneuvers. The lower cartoon depicts two dogs racing, with one boasting about beating trains at railway crossings, presumably mocking drivers who take similar risks. Together, these pieces mock both the mechanical complexity of early cars and the ego-driven behavior of motorists—common satirical targets in early-20th-century humor about automobiles and their owners.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
11 | Xl | i \ *s = @_) Ly C PUTTING ON A LOT OF DOG The Car Patker “GLAD you'r car in our garage,” excl: now—sw ds 1a grimy mechanic. “Bring her in that w I Iwa 1 asl I backed in and turned to look at him hard and then ease he expectantly up a little and put her in high. Now Irthur “Turn your wheels right!” he bel- back up and put her into first ——" lowed. I turned them righ But that’s as she got. I teaned AMERICA does cling to old eustor “Now cut in to the left and put her out and tapped him ever so gently with after all. Nobody c in reverse,” he shouted. “No, not that a monkey wrench. Then I turned to italize New Year k in an effort t way. Bring the rear over about three my trembling flivver ell 1926 to the ¥ feet. No, no, no! Put the front wheels around to the left and then shift thoid.’ Meekly I complied “Three feet to the and then a quick shift into reverse,” he shouted. ‘Then bring up the left front wheel until it’s three inches that way! Turn in and give her the gas in first speed. n put her into high ick, now away and reverse you go and then make left a complete turn to the a quick turn to the right within two feet of there, easy now Half an hour had passed made any progress. Bathed I stepped off the run But he was too quick for me. and then you come this car. Wh let her go dT hadn't in perspira- easy tion, ing -board. “Those front wheels are one-cighth of an inch from the wall,” he shouted ; “The regulations say they must be one- cy sixteenth. Get in. Back out. Turn around. Put her in reverse. . not "AHA! SO YOU ARE THE GUY THAT ALWAYS TRIED TO RACF AHEAD OF THE like that! Give them a hard, sharp TRAINS AT RAILWAY CROSSINGS! WELL, NOW, MISTER, SER IF YOU CAN RACE TWO / turn and then wheel right. Now, left LEAPS ANFAD OF ME.” comicbooks.com