Life, 1928-04-19 · page 14 of 43
Life — April 19, 1928 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main cartoon shows a tea party where people are being entertained by a juggler. The caption identifies this as "Off-Stage with Famous Vaudevillians: The Juggler Is Entertained at Tea"—satirizing vaudeville performers' social lives during the early 20th century. The joke appears to be that the entertainer becomes the entertainment even in private settings. Below, a dialog between "Sam" and "Curt" discusses inventing tin-foil cutting blades and sardine cans. Sam pitches new product ideas ("Oh, Min!" and "Goody Two-Chews"), with Curt responding skeptically. The piece ridicules inventors' optimism and their belief that necessity creates marketable inventions, when often their ideas are impractical or redundant.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Orr-Stace with Famous VAUDEVILLIANS The Juggler Is Entertained at Tea “‘Necessity Is the Mother of Invention”’ “Tr O, Sam. Wh venting lat “Nothing much, Curt. I've pat- ented a new knife that has blades for cutting tin-foil and scraping putty off windows. How about you?” “Well, I've had my ear close to the ground, and I think there's a big field for a hookless fastener that will seal sardine cans.” “That's a good idea. The country needs something like that.” “Have you heard about Will? He’s thought up several new names for fudge bars. One is called ‘Oh, Min" and I think the other is ‘Goody Two-Chews.’"” “You got to hand it to Will. He you been in- ought to insure his brains. Suppose something should by accident hit him on the head?” “You're right, Sam. Inventors are valuable people. Why, what progress would there be if it wasn’t for inventors like us?” “Well, they say that the opportu- nity creates the man. We're lucky to be living at all in an age like this.” “T guess that’s true. Necessity is the mother of invention.... Well, Sam, I’ve got to be getting back to work on my new fly-trap.” “So long, Curt. Drop around some time and see my combination earphone and radio headpiece for deaf mutes.” N. R. J. The Blessing of Adam H, Work is a tonic (In moderate doses) For all of our chronic Pains, sorrows, neuroses. When busy with labor There's no time to flurry Or bother our neighbor With tales of our worry. And Work is a Winner; It leads to successes; It buys you your dinner, It buys your wife’s dresses. The Gold or the Oil, or The jewels of Ophir Are grabbed by the Toiler And not by the loafer. And Work's a creator; On plains and on ridges From Pole to Equator It lays tracks and bridges. It fills us with fervent And noble elation; Yes, Work is a Servant Of Civilization. And Work is a duty, A splendid endeavor By which Art and Beauty Will flourish forever. Our progress it blazes; A blessing I rate it. Work merits my praises— And, gosh, how I hate it! Berton Braley. Adult Recreation “DP you enjoy the trip back from Los Angeles?” “T'll say I did. A fellow who thought he had everybody believing that he was Ricardo Cortez and a girl who apparently imagined that she could pass for Marceline Day told a woman who was bent on con- veying the impression that she was Irene Rich that I was Tom Mix.” Too Much Rope SSISTANT EDITOR: It seems as though every woman in the country were sending us poetry this week. Epitor: Yes, Dorothy Parker must have got out another book. DD SIMILES: “‘As useless as # rear-vision mirror on the front of a rowboat.” comicbooks.com