Life, 1926-12-16 · page 31 of 34
Life — December 16, 1926 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon mocks the then-popular radio broadcasts of football games. The scene depicts women at the "Bloomer Club" in New York watching a mechanical tin football on a wire board while listening to a radio announcer narrate a game between "Bloomer" and "Snubble." The satire highlights the absurdity of this indirect entertainment: spectators become emotionally invested in a disembodied voice describing action they cannot see, reacting to a tiny metal ball's jerky movements that often contradict the announcer's commentary. The disconnect is emphasized when the ball "remains where it is" despite excited play-by-play narration. The joke targets both the novelty of radio technology and the growing female sports audience—"Bloomer Club" references the women's athletic movement of the era. The final line ("I don't think it will ever supplant the horse") humorously suggests this newfangled invention will never replace traditional entertainment. The page is otherwise advertisements for Johnston's Chocolates, Bayer Aspirin, West Indies travel, and cigarettes.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
By Game-o-Graph Scene: Lounge of the Bloomer Club, New York, the afternoon of the big game between Bloomer and Snubble. (At one end of the crowded lounge is a large green board representing a football field. A small tin football is suspended upon the board by a with a radio loudspeaker near he game has just started. ORN: Dipple received the ball on Bloomer’s ten-yard line and carried it back to (WHRICKO) before he was downed. (The ball jerks unsteadily on the wire and comes to rest on Bloomer’s one-yard line. Cries of “No, no!” Ball is advanced five yards.) Horn: Kick formation, Whacker back. There he goes! Whacker took the ball on a fake end run and he's broken free! (Cheers.) He's reversed his field! (Loud cheers.) Whacker’s straight-armed two Snub- ble tacklers. He's loose! There he goes! (Prolonged cheering.) (Silence while the tin football jiggles up and down nervously.) Horn: It’s Snubble’s ball, first down, on Bloomer’s ten-yard line. Voice: What the hell! (Ball teeters forward to Snubble’s fifteen-yard line.) Voice: Who fumbled? Horn: Snood kicks to Hepple. Hepple kicks on the first down and Fishstick runs it back to the middle of the field. (Cheering.) (Every one looks at the tin foot- which remains where it is.) There they go—a for- ass! (Cries of “Ya-a-ay!"’) Dreep tossed the ball to Whacker, who was deep in Snubble territory. Whacker fumbled the ball (Groans) but recovered it. (Hooray!) He's on the twenty-yard line! He's dash- ing toward Snubble’s goal! It looks like a touchdown. There he goes! (Pause, while the tin football jerks indecisively from one end of the field to the other.) Horn: There is a pretty good- sized crowd in the Bowl this after- noon. Gaily colored balloons and pennants and the bright hats of the girls make a very pretty sight. (Ball moves uncertainly up and down the field and finally drops off completely. Jeers and catcalls.) Horn: Well, the game is over. Final score, Snubble 26, Bloomer 0. (General movement toward the door, and remarks like, “Well, the Game-o-Graph is a great invention,” and, “I don’t think it will ever sup- plant the horse.”) Norman R. Jaffray. wire, LORA: How long have you called him by his first name? Dora: Ever since I forgot his last. The Distinétion of a Gift of Johnston’s Chocolates ‘THE sophisticated giver well knows the valucof Johnston's for paying social “debts,"—for JohnSon’s is always corre Cte The secret of its good-ness is one of a generation's standing. Today... of it, Johnston’s has won a pinnacle place among the finethings thathavebecome part of our daily lives. You will fuda Gecial agency for Jobuien's Chocolates im one of the better class Bores in your ni ROBERT A. JOH NEW YORK . CHICAGO . N s MILWAUKEE . because TON cOMP MINNEAPOLIS. AN Y OAKLAND Cigarettes Direct! ! package Pocket tin i grnench TOBACCO CO. SSS vet, sStatesville, WC. |West Indies Indies Most attractive and leisurely Tours to the Islands in the Caribbean Sea Lowest Rates for First Class Steamers The New Steamship ‘‘NOVA SCOTIA” luxuriously appointed with rooms with bath and all modern conveniences. 21 to 23-Day Tours Sailing from New York Jan. 13, Feb. 15 and Mar. 16 Round trip rate $175 and up Better rooms $250 to $350 Best rooms with bath $450 i>) The newly Fitted S. S, “DOMINICA” 25 to 28-Day Tours Dec. 23, Jan. 27, Mar. 4 Round trip rates $160 and up Better rooms $200 to $250 Best roome with bath $350 Itinerary: St. Thomas, St, Croix, St. Kitts, juadeloupe, Dom ar: St. Lucie, Barbados, Trinided, Let Us Plan Your Trip NOW To Ingure Choice of Accommodations For Booklet and Reservations apply to FURNESS BERMUDA LINE u“ bs agrmeag 9 Street, NEW YORK Or Any Local Tourist Agent 3 Dest. S Ba \ Sion Say “‘Bayer Aspirin” INSIST! “Bayer Cross” on tablets you Unless you see the are not getting the genuine Bayer Aspirin proved safe by millions and prescribed by phy- sicians for 25 years. Accept only a Safe Bayer package whichcontains proven directions Hand “Bayer” boxes of 12 tablets ttles of 24 and 100—Druggists ses é the trede mark of Bayer Manu. of Monoaceticacidester of Salicylicacid comicbooks.com