The Wasp — 1890 — page 290: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains two distinct satirical pieces: **"That Telephone"** critiques how the telephone—a new invention—is becoming a nuisance, particularly at Mills' College. The article mocks how the device enables unwanted intrusions and moral transgressions, suggesting young ladies and administrators use it inappropriately. **"The Colonel's Mistake"** is a humorous anecdote about Col. Ike Gunpacker visiting San Francisco. A deacon invites him to church but deliberately drops half a dollar in the collection box, then retrieves it—the joke being the deacon's cheapness and the colonel's awkward position. Both pieces mock social pretension and institutional hypocrisy of the era. The illustrations show period fashion and the technology referenced. The satire targets emerging technology anxieties and the gap between public propriety and private behavior among the educated classes.