Life, 1928-04-26 · page 5 of 35
Life — April 26, 1928 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The top cartoon titled "Taking the Girl Friend Out to Dinner" satirizes the restaurant experience, likely from the 1910s-1920s. It depicts a man and woman dining while surrounded by snakes and creatures, with the caption referencing an "Ararat immigration quota for snakes"—an apparent reference to Noah's Ark and possibly immigration restrictions of that era. The dialogue mocks pretentious dining: the woman complains about burnt soup and poor service, while the man defends the restaurant as "divine" because it once served royalty. The satire targets both restaurant pretension and diners' gullibility. The lower section includes unrelated humor pieces: "The Kind Mother Used to Make" shows a figure, and "A Pleasure" presents brief comedic dialogue about marriage. The overall page demonstrates *Life* magazine's blend of visual satire and humorous commentary on social conventions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Noan: Say, boys, you fellers are exceeding the Ararat immigration quota for snakes. Taking the Girl Friend Out to Dinner HE: Is this the place you were raving about? He: Well, I've only been here a couple of times but it struck me as having atmosphere, sort of. Sur: Honestly, you slay me! What do you call “atmosphere”— dirty napkins? He: They have awfully good ravioli. Sur: I simply loathe that wop Vell, the chicken a I'Ital— Speaking of chicken, my I went to the most divine place the other night you've ever seen. I was with Luther Schmidt and I'll say one thing for Luther— he may be bald and rumple-tummied but he always insists on the best. Gosh, we had the most divine chow. I must say when I dine out I like things attractive. He: Well, this place has quite a reputa. Ss I should think it might! The waiters look like gunmen or something! They say the Prince of Have you tasted the soup? Yeah—tastes all right to me. Anything the matter with it? It’s burnt, that’s all. I Do you like it Sue: can’t eat burnt soup. that way? He: I didn’t notice it was burnt. I'll get the waiter to bring you: Sue: Don’t bother, for Heaven's sakes—I'm really not a bit hungry. I honestly haven't recovered from ENGRAVED BY OWN HELD JR Tue Kino Motner Usep to Make the simply marvelous dinner Luther ordered at this cinating place he took me to dine the other night. He: Oh, come on—you ought to eat something. Sue: Somehow I've suddenly lost my appetite, sort of, but actually, my dear, the way they prepared this chicken Luther ordered the other night was simply delish because this chef at this place gets about twenty- five thousand a year or something and was King Edward's personal chef or something, Luther and let me tell you, Luther gets service at places like that. I mean he knows everybody and they simply leap about and practicably fall all over themselves to do things for him and all. Gosh, I mean, when you dine out with Luther you feel like a queen or something—you actually do! Lloyd Mayer. A Pleasure ACK: I want you to marry us, parson, and this is the little girl who's to be my wife. Parson: Very glad to mate you. OU can eat your cake and put it on the expense account, too. comicbooks.com