Life, 1927-02-24 · page 13 of 39
Life — February 24, 1927 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page promotes Life's "Alibi-Tossing" contest, where readers submit excuses they'd give to a dentist caught examining them unexpectedly. The cartoon at top shows a "Bond Salesman" and "Big Business Man" exchanging alibis about a girl and a conference. **Alibi Number Eleven** (the main illustration) depicts a dental examination scene. The patient claims he "wasn't going to hurt a bit," while the dentist responds "it was this way"—implying the patient lied. The satire targets universal dental anxiety and the transparent excuses people make to avoid admitting fear of the dentist. The contest offered $100 weekly in prizes ($50 first prize) for the best submitted alibis, reflecting 1920s-30s public fascination with humor about everyday embarrassments.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
EXTRA PRIZES AWARDED ALIBI NUMBER SIX Bond Salesman: weLLo, MR. BROWN, 1 WAS JUST CALLING YOUR ; WHAT'S THE IDEA OF THE GIRLS TELLING ME YOU WERE IN CON- FERENCE? Big Business Man: wet, you ste, it’s THs way...1 was in conference with my niblick and my God. This Alibi, which wins the first prize of $50.00, was submitted by Enston E, Grant, U. S. N., U.S. S. Arctic, c/o Postmaster, San Francisco, California. Ten second prizes, instead of the usual five, have been awarded this week to those who submitted the line: “Her word is as good as your bond.” These prizes, of $10 each, go to the following: H. Beas, York, Neb.; Masp Fisnier, Baltimore, Md.; W. W. Gree, Elmira, N. Y.; R. R. Hitt- man, Buffalo, N. Y.; Mrs. W. B. Kirkman, Andover, Mass.; Fror- ence G. Postor, Washington, D. C.; W. H. Ryper, Brooklyn, N. Y.; E. W. Tracy, North Andover, Mass.; Jane Witson, Pasadena, Cal.; S. G. Yocum, Millville, N. J. The Judges of the Alibi Contest have also awarded six special third prizes of $5.00 each to the following, who submitted variations of “My word is as good.as your bond”: E. H. Bropie, Detroit, Mich.; Grace Connwatt, Mill Valley, Cal.; (Continued on page 33) ALIBI CONTEST Conditions of the Contest on page 33 $100.00 Weekly in Prizes LIBI-TOSSING is the new na- tional sport—and here's a per- fect chance for the amateur Alibi artist to turn professional. Study the situation depicted be- low; place yourself in the dentist's position for the moment—and then decide what you would say to the pained patient who took you at your word. Send your Alibis (any number of ‘em) to Lire, and you will be in line to win one of the cash prizes. Read all the conditions carefully and be sure to write legibly, using only one side of the paper. First Prize, $50.00 Five Second Prizes of $10.00 each Remember that, in the event of a tie, the full amount of the prize is awarded to all tying contestants. In the case of ALIBI NUMBER SIX, about which you may read in the column to your left, ten extra cash prizes were handcd out to successful contestants. ALIBI NUMBER TWELVE will be published in Lire next week, with a new set of prizes offered. ALIBI NUMBER ELEVEN a a NNN The Patient: wow! you satp THAT WASN’T GOING TO HURT A BIT! The Dentist: wet, you see, 1T WAS TIS WAY... comicbooks.com