Life — November 14, 1930 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Asleep in the Deep" This satirical piece mocks a real incident involving Joseph Urro of Troy, New York, whose father couldn't wake him to exit the bathtub. The illustration shows a man standing over someone asleep in a bathtub—the dangerous situation referenced. The satire targets bureaucratic absurdity: when authorities investigated, they blamed Urro's "deep sleep" rather than addressing the genuine hazard. Jack Cluett from the Department of Public Safety responds with tongue-in-cheek advice, essentially refusing city responsibility for bathroom safety by suggesting private solutions (extra bathrooms, faucets, sponges). The joke is that officials deflect from a legitimate public safety concern through ridicule and circular logic, protecting taxpayer money while ignoring obvious dangers of unresponsive sleepers in bathtubs.