Life, 1927-01-13 · page 14 of 39
Life — January 13, 1927 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page announces Life magazine's fifth weekly "Alibi Contest," offering $100 in prizes ($50 first place, five $10 second places). The featured cartoon depicts a traffic stop: a police officer has pulled over a car driven by a woman. The officer says "I HELD UP ME HAND AN' BLEW ME WHISTLE AN' STILL YE GO AHEAD. WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?" The woman responds "WELL, OFFICER, YOU SEE, IT WAS THIS WAY....." The joke plays on the contest's theme: the woman is about to offer an "alibi"—an excuse or explanation for her traffic violation. The cartoon satirizes both female drivers (a common comedy target in the 1920s) and the universal human tendency to offer elaborate justifications when caught breaking rules. Readers could submit their own humorous alibis to win prizes.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Conditions of the Contest Read these carefully: B ACh week we will publish a different picture in the ALIBI CONTEST —the picture this week being marked “ALIBI NUMBER FIVE.” The first prize of $50.00 will be awarded cach week to the contestant who, in the opinion of the judges, furnishes the cleverest and most con- vincing conclusion to the sentence which starts, “Well, you see, it was this way..." Five second prizes of $10.00 each will be awarded to the runners-up. Answers must not exceed twenty five words in length; this word limit, however, is not intended to include the captions under the Contest pic- tures as originally published in Lire. There is no limit to the number of answers to cach Contest picture that any one contestant may submit. Nor is it necess for a contestant to submit answers to more than one of the Contest pictures to be eligible for a prize. The judges will be three of the Editors of Lire. In the event of a tie, the full amount of the prize will be awarded to cach of the tying contestants. Answers should be typewritten or clearly written on one side of the paper. The judges cannot under- take to return any of the manu- scripts that are submitted in this Contest. Answers to ALIBI NUMBER FIVE should be so marked, and sent to ALIBI CONTEST EDI- TOR, Lire, 598 Madison Avenue, New York y. All answers to ALIBI NUMBER FIVE must reach Lire’s office before 12 noon on Janua 7, 1927. Announce- ment of the winners will be made in the issue of February 17, 1927. The Contest is open to all and ts not limited to subscribers to Lire. Members of Lirr’s staff, and their families, are barred from competi- tion. ama HIS is the fifth week of the Great Alibi Contest. Even though you may have missed the pre- ceding Alibi Pictures, you can enter the Contest now and be eligible for this week's prize. Study carefully the situation de- picted by Conacher below. Try to evoly, Alibi for the woman driver involved in this predicament. Express this Alibi in twenty-five words (or less) and send it in to the Alibi Contest Editor. Remember— the twenty-five-word limit applies only to your Alibi, and does not in- clude the printed caption beneath the picture. Each contestant may send in as many answers to this Contest or she desires. But all ansv ALIBI NUMBER FIVE must reach Lire’s office not later than twelve noon on January 27, 1997. The prizes are as follows: First Prize, $50.00 Five Second Prizes of $10.00 each These prizes will be awarded to those who, in the opinion of the judges, submit the cleverest and most convincing Alibis to fit the situation in the accompanying picture. ALIBI NUMBER SIX _ will be published in Lire next week, with a new set of prizes offered. Read the conditions carefully— and go to it! ALIBI NUMBER FIVE Cop: I HELD UP ME HAND AN’ BLEW ME WHISTLE AN’ STILL YE GO AHEAD. WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA? She: WELL, OFFICER, YOU SEE, IT WAS THIS WAY.... comicbooks.com