Life, 1929-01-04 · page 7 of 36
Life — January 4, 1929 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several humor pieces typical of early-20th-century Life magazine satire: **"Note on Women"** mocks women's thriftiness—the joke being that a woman will buy a second can of lacquer just to use up leftover product. **"Two Mathematicians Relax"** satirizes overly intellectual men who communicate entirely through complex mathematical equations, unable to have normal conversation. **The main cartoon** shows a well-dressed man with a cane telling another man he was "busted up" while "riding in an ambulance"—the joke being the absurdity of getting injured *while already in* an ambulance. **The bottom comic strip** depicts men searching for money ("dollar bills," "five dollar bills"), satirizing post-war economic desperation or frivolous materialism. **"Tom & Flora" dialogue** mocks social climbing and nouveau riche pretension about modern furniture and Christmas gifts. The final line suggests increased pedestrian accidents, likely referencing growing automobile traffic dangers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
NOTE ON WOMEN Ir a half-gill of lacquer is left over, she will try to save it by lacquering some- thing else. In the end this will necessitate buying a second can of lacquer. Dicntftep: I'll have you know, my good man, that I come from one of our first families. Impupent: Yes, and gosh how you have traveled! Two Mathematicians Relax “Dio you see that v2 girl?” “The one with the short 3.14159 and | practically no 4 4/41.3?” “Yes. Boy, what 4.7779a-++ 3 v—i"" “And such 6b 4/Rx !" 27. “Pll say \/o x (ab + ged)!” “Dy37-4 - ab + 7!” ee “xy — 7.999 + R = O!” 2 “You said it!” James Holden. “Whee are you from?” “Chicago.” “Do you know the mayor?” “Ho—ho! Haw—haw—haw! ha—ha! “How did you get busted up like that?” Har—har—har! Yes. “I was riding in an ambulance.” Tom: Is he moderate? Frora: Extremely. “It seemed awfully good, I tell you, to meet a friend from my home town.” “I'm making more money than I used to, too.” “T rec terrible. I think I'm dying.” “Well, you can’t die here, this is the living room.” How wonderful! So you've got the fascinating modern furniture now. No, Uncle Bill gave little Johnny a chest of tools for Christmas! “What are you looking for?” Now-a-pays, if a man falls by the “Oh, I'm looking for dollar bill——what are you looking for?” wayside, the chances are that he was a “Me, I'm looking for five dollar bills.” pedestrian. comicbooks.com