The Wasp — 1894 — page 408: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily **advertising**, featuring San Francisco businesses (hotels, restaurants, printing services). However, the central cartoon titled "THE USUAL WAY OF THINGS" depicts two figures on a bicycle or similar vehicle. The caption references a "CHINBOY" waiting at a laundry, and "PATROY" (likely "Paddy," an ethnic slur for Irish people) who worked reducing weight for six months but now hangs around eating. The joke appears to satirize **ethnic stereotypes** — contrasting a Chinese worker with an Irish one, playing on period prejudices about different immigrant groups' work ethic and character. The humor relies on derogatory period stereotyping now recognized as offensive, illustrating the casual racism embedded in early 20th-century American satirical publications.