Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, January 1921 · page 16 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #16 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Captain Billy's Whiz Bang* (a 1920s-era humor magazine) contains two satirical pieces: **Top section**: A brief joke about custody disputes, mocking the emotional drama ("hysteria") surrounding child custody cases of the era. It's sardonic commentary on how childhood becomes a battleground between parents. **"Our Language"**: A humorous list exploiting English's arbitrary collective nouns (flock, herd, school, etc.). The satire lies in the absurdist progression—it starts with real terms, then subverts them by applying formal collective nouns to people in unexpected ways. Calling a "herd of children" a "troop" is legitimate, but a "mob of whales" a "school" or—most pointedly—"a school of worshippers" a "congregation" creates mock-serious wordplay mocking linguistic inconsistency and pretension. The final entry likely suggests that organized religion is just another collective grouping, a subtle jab at institutional piety.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
14 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang and foster mother with sure enough evidence that father still was raising children. The papers stated that the mother was threatened with hysteria and bade her surprised child take his charge back to its father's home. For comedy and tragedy, go watch in the halls of childhood. * * * Eve tempted Adam with an apple. Were you ever tempted by an apple? * * * Our Language Here are a few of the difficulties of the English language: A flock of ships is called a fleet. A fleet of sheep is called a flock. A flock of girls is called a bevy. A bevy of wolves is called a pack. A pack of thieves is called a gang. A gang of angels is called a host. A host of porpoises is called a shoal. A shoal of buffaloes is called a herd. A herd of children is called a troop. A troop of partridges is called a covey. A covey of beauties is called a galaxy. A galaxy of ruffians is called a horde. A horde of rubbish is called a heap. A heap of oxen is called a drove. A drove of blackguards is called a mob. A mob of whales is called a school. A school of worshippers is called a congregation.