Life — March 25, 1926 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Hell—the Gem of the Tropics" This page satirizes Hell, Colorado, a real town that had become a tourist attraction. The main article, attributed to Dante Alighieri (the medieval Italian poet), humorously treats Hell as a vacation destination. The text describes visiting Hell's Club, praising its facilities and food despite the town's somewhat disreputable reputation. The central cartoon illustrates "Oriental Philosophy," depicting a grotesque demon figure. The caption jokes about fortune-telling and deception: "When all the world seems dark—when fortune plays you false—when your best friends won't tell you... be nonchalant—light a dope!" The satire mocks both the commercialization of a poorly-regarded town and contemporary attitudes toward drugs and spiritual hucksterism, treating serious vices as laughable modern absurdities.