Life — March 10, 1927 — page 24: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon depicts a man and woman at a small table with drinks, captioned "The Laziest Man on the West Coast Waiting for the Six O'Clock Quake." The joke concerns **earthquake preparedness on the West Coast** (California), where seismic activity was a known hazard. The "laziest man" is apparently too indolent to prepare for or brace himself during an earthquake—instead, he's casually waiting for a predicted tremor at 6 o'clock, presumably expecting the quake itself to do the work for him (possibly shake things up, or perhaps he's waiting for it to disrupt his scheduled activities). The satire mocks both West Coast residents' casual attitude toward natural disasters and human laziness generally. The woman's expression suggests she finds his attitude absurd or troubling. The cartoon's date and exact context remain unclear without publication information.