Life — August 1, 1930 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Mr. Coolidge Gets An Idea" This is a satirical sketch showing a man and woman on a couch with the caption "But Myron, do you think mere physical attraction is enough?" The dialogue below reveals the joke: Mr. Coolidge (the man) is a newspaper writer struggling with laziness and lack of ideas. His wife Mrs. C. persistently nags him to write his overdue newspaper article. When she suggests he phone the editor, Coolidge suddenly claims to have an idea—"America's Prospects Are Bright If Her Citizens Are Persistent"—which he admits is recycled from Herbert Hoover. The satire mocks Coolidge's laziness, his wife's nagging persistence, and the banality of his "original" idea. The humor lies in how he only produces work under pressure and then recycles old material as his own.