Life — October 7, 1926 — page 23: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a satirical commentary on youth culture and social anxieties. The scene depicts a lively indoor party or "taffy pull" (a popular social gathering where guests pulled candy together). The caption's nostalgic tone—"back in the days when rats were not always rodents"—uses playful language to mock older generations' moral panic about young people. The satire targets generational concern-mongering: elderly observers fret that youth are "raising the dickens" and experimenting with the "new two-step dance," treating these innocent activities as moral threats. The phrase "What are the young people coming to, anyway?" captures the perpetual adult anxiety about youth misbehavior. The cartoon ridicules this overblown worry, suggesting each generation recycles the same fears about the next. The reference to "rats" appears to be coded slang commentary, though the exact meaning remains unclear without additional historical context.