The Wasp — 1879 — page 417: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains several humorous anecdotes rather than political cartoons. The main illustrated item is a caricature of a bee labeled "The Very Freshest American Humor." The text includes comedic short stories mocking various subjects: glass-tomb manufacturing in Pittsburgh, English doctors' bicycle use, and—most prominently—a lengthy anecdote titled "Professor Crapp's Method" about a disastrous attempt to train a mule using an umbrella trick. The story involves a professor, a justice, and a boat captain, culminating in the mule being repeatedly dunked in a canal. The humor appears broadly satirical rather than targeted at specific political figures. These are general satirical pieces poking fun at human folly, educational pretension, and everyday absurdities typical of late 19th-century American humor magazines.