Life — December 19, 1930 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "A Buxom Figure" This page presents a humorous letter to the editor about Earth's weight. Sir James Jeans, a British astronomer, apparently stated that Earth weighs six sextillion tons. The letter writer (Jack Cluett) humorously questions how anyone could know this without measuring Earth's circumference—suggesting the absurdity of such precise cosmic calculations. The accompanying cartoon depicts a welfare worker asking a woman's name, which begins with "W," in a scene outside a tenement. The humor appears to rely on wordplay or a visual pun about the woman's appearance or circumstances, though the specific reference is unclear to modern readers without additional context about contemporary welfare stereotypes or naming conventions.