Life, 1927-05-19 · page 15 of 42
Life — May 19, 1927 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains an **Alibi Contest**—a humor feature inviting readers to submit creative excuses for everyday social mishaps. The contest offers $100 weekly in prizes ($50 first prize, five $10 second prizes). **Alibi Number Twenty-Three** illustrates the joke: a boy has worn his undershirt inside-out to swimming. When his mother notices, he claims he "weren't in swimming to-day" and frames the mishap as the shirt being on the "wrong side out." The humor lies in his transparent, ridiculous lie—the obvious contradiction between his denial and the visible evidence. The page also lists previous contest winners' creative alibis (spice on shoes, tire repairs, etc.), showing how readers submitted humorous excuses for various predicaments. This reflects 1920s-30s popular humor and audience participation culture.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
| PRIZE WINNERS ALIBI NUMBER EIGHTEEN The Sucker: FIFTY DOLLARS FoR GINGER ALE AND SANDWICHES! low po YOU FIGURE THAT? Waiter: WELL, YOU SEE, sir, IT’S rus way...The meal itself was ten dollars and the playing of the orchestra was forte. This Alibi, which wins the first prize of $50.00, was submitted by: H. Ramspottom, 1417 Seventh Avenue, N. W., Calgary, Canada. Five second prizes of $10.00 each been awarded to the following: T.R. the Alit besides.” Marcaret Es York for the Alibi: ‘‘S ate a flat tire its j id shock absorbers avail.” Mrs. Joun Lavon, Lexington, < cellent < ceptional hilarating pert orbitant Sandwiches Musie the total is Mirprep C. W Erie, tania, for the Alibi: “There's large ‘cover’ charge to-night, sir. persuaded your wife you we Mane Surpanp Yost, weit, Seattle, Washington, for We furnished a lot of spice are of no Pennsyl- quite a I just en’t here.” Huntington, Life ALIBI CONTEST Conditions of the Contest on page 34 $100.00 Weekly in Prizes THE twenty-third chapter in the great Missing Alibi serial ap- pears below, graphically portrayed by Leonard Holton. It describes a moment that is familiar to most of us, who have been in this same predicament our- selves and have been compelled to think up a quick answer. What is yours? Put yourself in the position of the small boy. What would you say to your suspecting parent? How would you turn away her wrath, and escape the terrible consequences of ish misdemeanor? Think up a_ clever, ingenious Alibi for use in this emergency and send it in, posthaste, to the Alibi Contest Editor. If you're sufficiently good at it, you'll be rewarded in a substantial, financial way. Over one hundred people have al- ready received cash pri in the Alibi Contest, and there are many more happy winners to come. There's no reason why you shouldn't be one of them. The prizes are as follows: First Prize, $50.00 Five Second Prizes of $10.00 each ALIBI NUMBER TWENTY- FOUR will appear in Lire next week. Read the conditions carefully— and go to it! ALIBI NUMBER TWENTY-THREE | have City, from Ken- Mother: we., BOBBY, IP YOU WEREN’T IN SWIMMING TO-DAY PERHAPS YOU CAN TELL MOTHER WHY YOUR UNDERSHIRT 13 West Virginia, for the Alibi: “The ginger ale is free; the sandwiches wuz ate and the jazz wuz forte, too.” WRONG SIDE ouT? Bobby: are, MA! you ser, 17's THIS WAY 4 comicbooks.com