The Wasp — 1890 — page 379: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily a **directory of hotels and watering places** on the Pacific Coast, mixed with period advertisements. The small satirical content includes: **"Brazenning It Out"** — A brief comic exchange where a teacher reports a student for severe misbehavior, and the principal dismisses it, suggesting institutional indifference to discipline. **"Why He Cried"** — A boy claims dynamite wouldn't detonate, implying reckless or dangerous behavior treated humorously. The page's real focus is commercial: hotel listings, wine advertisements (Vinegar Bitters), dentistry services, and patent medicines (Tutt's Pills, sexual tonics). These ads reveal period anxieties about masculinity, digestive health, and dental work—marketed as solutions to modern ailments. The satire is minimal here; the page functions primarily as a **business directory and advertisement vehicle**.