Life, 1927-01-27 · page 11 of 35
Life — January 27, 1927 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three separate humor pieces: 1. **"So Long, Opisthocomus Mystaceus!"** — A musical parody about an obscure bird species, with verses and chorus. The joke appears to be the absurdity of writing an elaborate "New Bird Song" about such an unpronounceable, insignificant creature. 2. **"The Bore"** — A sketch satirizing tedious social visitors. A man monopolizes conversation with lengthy, unwelcome discussion about his health problems and medical operations, exemplifying the type of bore who makes social calls unbearable. 3. **"Proof"** — A brief dialogue joke where a caller asks if someone's son is home; the father replies the son must be out because "his hat hanging up" — implying the son is there but hiding from visitors. All are gentle, domestic satire typical of early 20th-century American humor magazines.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
> for » the utes; es lents ame fers, tions itten Irate pay- ¢ in tn and ents cles, ither his the for ship ouse nd a ck. So Long, Opisthocomus Mystaceus! The New Bird Song (Nore: So many popular tunes have recently been written about the habits of the robin, swallow, blackbird, blue- bird. ¢fe., that it is about time people's attention and sympathies were drawn to the Thrassel-Tailed Flycatcher, — or “Opithocomus Mystaceus,” as it ie often affectionately termed by bird-lovers The following song is designed to supply that .ved, ag well as to teach our young- stere come valuable facts of Natural History in an interesting, painless way.) V THAT'S your rush, Mister Thrush? Whither do you fly? It's a cinch You're no finch, You're two inches shy. There's a scarlet tanager, Skimming right along: He's looking for his manager ‘To teach him this new song: Cuorvs: Here we go, to and fro, Some up high and some down low, So long, Opisthocomus My: Some are green, some Sugar’s sweet, and so a So long, Opisthocomus My No other bird T know is so No other bird has feathers so seta- ceous ; ! know why you soar so high, It's because you want to catch a fly— Opisthocomus Mystaccus, so long! Norman R. Jaffray. Visitor: Np Wust po you ¥ TO WE WHEN you Grow uP LITTLE MAN? Precocious Youngster: 1 WANT TO BE A STAGE MAND WITIL “ARTISTS AND MODELS.” The Bore FALTH is precious, but at times it places a burden on the human race by transforming other- wise charming people into insuffer- able bores. For instance, the visitor I had this morning was, potentially, Syd: 1 WAVE AN ABOMINABLE COLD. Joe: WHAT ARE YOU DRINKING FoR 17? a cultured, personable man, with whom I would have enjoyed an hour's discussion under normal con- ditions. Unfortunately, however, the conversation was diverted to the bad weather and its attendant epidemics and I was forced to sit through a lengthy monologue on the content- ment to be derived from immunity from illness. My visitor almost prostrated me with repetition of this obnoxious pronouncement: i I never had a doctor in my li Then he pleaded another engage- ment and left before I could tell him about my two operations. Gerald Cosgrove. Proof CAL LER: Is your son home? ater: No, he must be out. There's his hat hanging up. comicbooks.com