Life, 1927-06-30 · page 22 of 35
Life — June 30, 1927 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents a 1920s-era humor contest called "Alibi." The top cartoon shows a teacher confronting a student (Johnny) about a misspelled absence note supposedly written by his mother—Johnny's excuse is that his mother just washed her fountain pen. The main feature is a marital drama: a husband has been caught in a compromising situation—a woman at a restaurant called him by his first name, suggesting prior acquaintance. His wife demands an explanation. The contest challenges readers to complete his alibi (excuse) in 25 words or fewer, with cash prizes offered. The humor relies on the assumption that fabricating excuses to escape blame for infidelity or suspicious behavior is both common and entertaining. This reflects period attitudes about marital deception and male infidelity as comic fodder. The "alibi" itself—the art of plausible lying—is treated as a clever, admirable skill worthy of prize money.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
20 PRIZE WINNERS ALIBI NUMBER TWENTY-FOUR Teacher: you say THIS EXCUSE FOR YOUR ABSENCE WAS WRITTEN BY YOUR MOTHER, AND YET NEARLY EVERY WORD 18 MISSPELLED, EX- PLAIN! Johnny: WELL, You SEE, 1T’s THIS way...She has just washed her fountain pen, and she can't do a thing with it. This Alibi, which wins the first prize of $50.00, was submitted by: Biancnue Tueopora Hitt, 325 Beacon Street, Boston, Massachusetts. Five second prizes of $10.00 each have been awarded to the following: H. J. Dovae, Washington, D. C., for the Alibi: “My mother lacked the educational facilities which I enjoy under your tutelage. I re- frained from orthographical correc- tions, fearing the document's gen- uineness might be questioned.” Mrs. Marion Gotpsmitn, Lisbon, Ohio, for the Alibi: “Mother felt so bad ‘cause I had to miss school that the tears came in her eyes and she couldn’t see how to spell.” Ceceuta Inatis, San Mateo, Cali- fornia, for the Alibi: ‘Mother is Scotch and she always leaves a few letters out of every word. It saves ink.” Cuartes H. Kerry, Houston, Texas, for the Alibi: “Mama is writ- ing for true story magazines and she spells that way to make the stories seem real.” Pavut ve Marky, New York City, for the Alibi: “She thinks with that schoolgirl complexion she ought to keep that schoolgirl complex.” ALIBI CONTEST Conditions of the Contest on page 31 $100.00 Weekly in Prizes For our subject this week we have one of those things which just seem to happen. The picture tells the sad story of a husband who stepped out, and a wife who found out. Were it not for one priceless pacifier—one invaluable invention— situations of the kind depicted be- low would nearly always result in what we may call a Little Crisis in the Home. This pacifier, ladies and gentle- men, this invention of which we speak, is called—the ALIBI. Study the picttre and sce if, in twenty-five words, or less, you can help a fellow-mortal out of a per- fectly overwhelming predicament. All you have to do is to complete his answer, which begins, “Well, listen, dear — you see, it’s this your conclusions are sufficiently clever and ingenious, you will be in line for one of the cash prizes, which are as follows: First Prize, $50.00 Five Second Prizes of $10.00 each ALIBI NUMBER THIRTY will be published in Lire next week, with a new set of prizes offered. Read the conditions carefully— and go to it! Se — SS Saee e ——— iy LASS v. She: you TOLD ME YOU’D NEVER BEEN IN THIS PLACE BEFORE AND THAT GIRL CALLED YOU BY YOUR FIRST NAME. Now, WHAT'S YOUR EXCUSE? He: WELt, ListeN, DEAR—YOU SEE, IT’S THIS WAY... —_____J comicbooks.com