Life — October 19, 1928 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine Page **Top Cartoon:** Shows a preacher's wife asking her son where he learned "awful words," and he replies he got them from "Papa's sermon on Al Smith." This references Al Smith, the 1928 Democratic presidential candidate. The joke satirizes how religious figures' political attacks on Smith (likely regarding his Catholicism) contained harsh language that children were repeating. **"Our Own Straw Vote" Article:** Life magazine conducted a humorous nationwide poll by personally asking 20 million voters their voting preference for the upcoming election. The article describes their methodology for canvassing voters. **Bottom Cartoon:** The joke about "Bidgers" making a hole and the cigarette lighter/hole reference appears to be wordplay-based humor, though the precise meaning is unclear without additional context.