Life, 1926-05-06 · page 32 of 52
Life — May 6, 1926 — page 32: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine satirizes American social and cultural attitudes through several brief jokes and observations. The "Clean Fun" section presents witty one-liners mocking contemporary concerns: Lady Godiva fears her marriage is failing; a golf joke references endless conversation; financial security supposedly makes borrowing easier; and an observation that modern society has perfected "substitutes for everything; particularly for original thinking." The Lady Godiva and Cleopatra exchanges joke about divorce as inevitable—both historical figures humorously reassure distressed women that marital dissolution is forthcoming. The "Moral America" cartoon depicts crowded streetcar passengers, satirizing public behavior—the conductor notes that when one side fills, passengers oddly prefer the opposite side rather than sitting nearby. A final quip mocks the ex-King of Greece's reported interest in a Florida orange grove, suggesting exiled royalty must engage in commerce rather than maintain aristocratic pretense. The overall tone is sophisticated satire targeting modern life's contradictions: divorce culture, failed optimism, conformity, and commercial necessity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Clean Fun Lady Godiva: I'm ter- ribly afraid that my marriage is a failure. All Set “ ARE you going to keep ‘Be Kind to Animals Week’ next year?” “I should hope to kiss a pig! THE best lie on any course—“I'll do better to-morrow.” Conductor: CAN YOU BEAT IT? PLENTY FLOCK TO THE OTHER. » LADEE) ° From a Club Chair “THERE. is comfort in the thought that nothing is so dead as yester- day’s newspaper and nothing so nebu- lous as to-morrow’s, eee If it weren't for the race's incurable optimism there would -be no divorce. eee Thought is the process by which most of us belie our words. eee I should hate to be either priest or tailor. Neither the average body nor the ordinary soul is good to look at when it sheds its outer garments. eee Golf is the last refuge of the man who enjoys conversation. eee It seems to me that the ideal life must be on the sea; there is the only manifestation of Nature that man hasn't attempted to improve. eee There is one thing about attaining to financial security: it enables you to borrow money so easily. eee This is an age which has perfected substitutes for everything; particularly for original thinking. James Kevin McGuinness. MORAL AMERICA Cleopatra: Cheer up, sweetheart — divorce is yet to come. Clean Fun THE ex-King of Greece is reported to be contemplating the purchase of an orange grove in Florida. Naturally, he would not come to the United States without going into the fruit business. OF SEATS ON ONE SIDE OF THE CAR, AN’ ALL THEM BOOBS