Life — July 10, 1931 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Radiator Cap Ornaments Satire This humorous article mocks the fashion of decorative radiator cap ornaments on 1920s automobiles. The text poses absurd questions: would Mercury point the way? Should Achilles be there? Does an Indian maiden guide you through forests? The satirical point is that these ornaments—often expensive, ornate figurines—were status symbols that served no practical purpose on cars. The article gently ridicules both the ornaments themselves and drivers' vanity in displaying them. The accompanying sketch shows two men in conversation, with one asking "Haven't you something I wouldn't have to get mud on?"—mocking both the impracticality of keeping such decorations clean and the snobbish desire to own exclusive items. The profile of "Lady Godiva" is discussed as a particularly absurd choice for a radiator ornament.