Life, 1927-01-27 · page 8 of 35
Life — January 27, 1927 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three satirical pieces from Life magazine (a 1920s humor publication): 1. **"Teacher, will you knows what that sign means?"** - A classroom cartoon mocking a student's ignorance about traffic signs, likely social commentary on poor education or reckless driving habits. 2. **"The Complete Husband"** - A humorous poem listing qualities of an ideal husband who entertains business friends, manages household finances, and avoids criticisms. The accompanying illustration shows a domestic scene, satirizing traditional gender roles and marriage expectations of the era. 3. **"A Letter to a Bank President"** - A reader's complaint about a 1927 calendar's unclear January slogan ("Don't wait for a thing to turn up. Go and turn it up yourself"), with amusing anecdotes about misunderstandings regarding the first telegraph line between Philadelphia and New York. These pieces represent typical 1920s humor targeting everyday life frustrations and social conventions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Teacher: Small Bobby: NOW WHICH OF YOU KNOWS WHAT THAT SIGN MEA I KNow, TEACHER! IT MARKS THE SPOT WITERE THE BODY WAS FOUND. The Complete Husband H E. entertains his business friends downtown. He knows his relatives should be seen and not heard. He fixes the housekeeping allow- ance at three times the estimate. There is never any driving from the back seat in his car. His wife does the driving. He docs not know a woman of his and his wife's acquaintance whom, on reflection, he would call beautiful. He tells his wife every month or so that if she had so desired she could have been a famous interior decorator. McC. H. } O man we know ever achieved popularity by telling the truth about any one other than himself. Agent: 1’ REPRESENTING MISS VIOLET RAY, WHO HAS WRITTEN A TRUE CON- FESSION STORY W ICH SHE WILL SEL tditor: WHAT'S TH POR TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS. STORY CALLED? Agent: “WOW 1 BARTERED MY SOUL FOR A MILLION.” A Letter to a Bank Preg.. dent Acknowledging the Receipt of a Calendar EAR SAMUEL: I got your 1927 calendar anj nothing could have pleased me mor. I have already read January's pap and can hardly wait for the time ty look at February's. But I am wondering some abox the January slogan that you hay printed. You say: “Don't wait for a thing to turn up. Go and tum it up for yourself.” Next time yo are stopped by the red t ig at Center Street, just try ing for the green light to turn up Drive on and turn it up yourself and let me know how (and when) you come out. Your poem on “Ambition good sentiment and logic, but is spots its meter cries out for an ap plication of Allen’s Foot-Ease. I like your idea of listing histori- cal facts under all the days, be gosh, I didn’t suppose you knew th much ‘history. That little jc put in about the Eighteenth Amend- ment’s having been put into effect o the 16th will get some good laughs You say the first telegraph wire be tween Philly and New York was opened on the 20th. Are you sure? As I recall it, you and [ wert down to that celebration, The cere mony was at noon, and after it yoo and I went into a place and lapped up several Tom Colli After a while I said to you: “What time is it, Sam?” You pulled out your watch and blinked at it for a minute. Then you replied, “Tuesday 19th.” Of course I may be wrot or your watch may have been wrong, but I think the 19th is the correct date. But thanks awfully for the gift and ‘along about the first of the month I'll be around to give the bank something, unless you write and ss that you want it sooner. Yours sincerely, H. Colum. Impossible Conversation EADWAITER IN NIGHT CLUB: Good evening, sir; de lighted to see you here again. Patron (fo fair companion) Funny he thinks he knows me. was never in one of these places be fore in my life. comicbooks.com