Life, 1926-11-11 · page 18 of 45
Life — November 11, 1926 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**The Cartoon ("The Gay Nineties"):** This illustration depicts two men on a tandem bicycle, watched by pedestrians. The caption mocks "pestered pilots of the present" who blame this pioneer bicycle period for popularizing "that poisonous pessimist of the joy ride—the back-seat driver." The joke is that the tandem bicycle invented the problem of one passenger backseat driving the other, a nagging companion who gives unwanted directions or criticism while not controlling the vehicle. **The Text Below:** Two separate comic vignettes follow: 1. A hyperactive football game commentator's breathless play-by-play narration 2. A brief joke about someone not drinking alcohol for six months The page satirizes everyday American annoyances and social situations through humor.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Gay Nineties PESTERED PILOTS OF THE PRESENT CAN BLAME THIS PIONEER PERIOD FOR PROVAGATING THAT POISONOUS PESSIMIST OF THE JOY RIDE—THE BACK-SEAT DRIVER. Comments of a Phlegmatic Man at a Football Game “NAJOT a bad kick. H’m, they made ten yards that touchdown next thing. Why can’t they get that man? time. Five yards more, Another five. You'd Letting him make ten more. Ten-yard line now. Better think they'd get onto that play pretty soon. hold ‘em. Hold ’em! Hold ’em!!| HOLD ’E “Foolish to fumble like that. at lost them the “Get down there now and SMEAR that! G ball. Well, wonder what our side will do. They lost GUY! THAT'S STOPPING HIM! Third down, three yards. Off-side. They ought to show little four to go! HOLD'EM! YAAAAY! Fourth down, , pep. They don’t hit the line low enough, either. three to go! Tighten up there, TIGHTEN UP! LOOK “Guess that kick went about sixty-five yards. Not UT! GET HIM! HOORAY! OUR BALL! bad. They'd better hold ’em now if they don’t want to “NOW LET'S GO!!!” be scored on, Five-yard gain. Too bad. Ten yards John Cy Emery. more. This doesn’t look f we're going to wi Fif- teen yards that time. They're on the twenty-yard line ‘* J HAVEN'T had a drink in six months.” now. Getting pretty near the goal. “Well, you're not missing much. It hasn't im- “They'd better stop that halfback. He'll make a proved a bit.” comicbooks.com