Life, 1927-12-01 · page 36 of 80
Life — December 1, 1927 — page 36: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine contains three satirical pieces from the 1890s era ("The Gay Nineties"): **"The Gay Nineties"** (main illustration): A humorous scene depicting a Christmas Eve turkey raffle at a bar called "The Dutchman's." The joke satirizes how celebratory drinking inflates the actual cost of the prize—the bird supposedly costs three times its market value once everyone toasts the winner. It's gentle mockery of working-class holiday traditions and the economic irrationality of festive excess. **"Harnessing Human Nature"**: A hospital visitor observes men on treadmills. The nurse explains these are "prospective fathers" whose physical exertion powers the hospital's machinery—dark humor about exploiting men's anxieties regarding fatherhood. **"True to Form"**: A brief comic dialogue where a woman agrees to wear a grass skirt to a masked ball, then jokes she'll "wiggle out of it"—a pun on both the garment and escaping obligation. The final paragraph humorously notes tabloids print in different colors so illiterate readers can identify their favorite papers by color rather than content.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
oa 7 pect got pene = a a pol Sess Sa Sac = ee ee x peers Seas 24 se _— Sa gees ar pepsi we ad Secusseeon Chrishnay C> Li £¢ ~OMumber? ia | The Gay Nineties The Christmas Eve turkey raffle down at the “Dutchman’s."’ Holding the winning number in this event called for a libation to Lady Luck which must include all present. This insured a record attendance and the ultimate cost of the bird usually totaled somewhere around three times what it brought in the open market. But, oh, gosh, wasn't it worth it! Harnessing Human Nature True to Form “Vy JHAT in the world is tha to the hospital, as he entered a long hall. He pointed to a treadmill arrangement at one side in which several worried-looking men were unceasingly walking and getting nowhere, masked ball. : What are : Oh, I'll wiggle out of it. “That is for prospective fathers,” said the escorting ROBABLY the tabloids are printed in various colors n't read will be able to nurse. “We get enough power from them, while they so that the customers who are waiting, to run all of the machinery in the place.” ze their favorite papers. "exclaimed the visitor M42ZIE: Bob wants me to wear a grass skirt to the you going to do about it? SS sa REELS, Loe epee ee SEL a 7 ae ES BLE | SPR Page 34 comicbooks.com