Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, January 1921 · page 17 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #16 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two humorous pieces from an early 20th-century American satirical magazine. **"Bull Frog Bull"** is a mock-serious natural history essay that plays on the word "bull" (the animal) while discussing actual frog biology. The humor culminates in a topical reference: it claims the frog "can catch more flies than Tris Speaker, with far less effort." Tris Speaker was a famous baseball player, likely known for poor performance or fumbling catches. The essay concludes with a pun—frogs having "hops"—possibly implying American society itself has lost vitality. **"You Can't Fool a Horse-Fly"** is a dialect joke featuring Irish characters (Mike and Pat, indicated by "Moike," "Begorra," and "blaggard"). Pat becomes offended when told a horse-fly lands on his neck, interpreting the statement as a personal insult. The punchline—"you can't fool a fly"—suggests Pat himself is foolish enough to be compared to a horse-fly.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang 15 Bull Frog Bull The Frog is a slick member of the reptile family deriving its name from the Latin words E Hopus Jumpus, meaning “Warts.” It has four legs, but only finds use for two—the hind ones, which are built on altogether different lines than the front ones, being about five times as long, and fold under his body at a very convenient angle, affording ample seating capac- ity. The most common species of the Frog Family are the Toad Frog and the Bull Frog. The French people consider the Bull Frog quite a delicacy, and all snakes are very fond of Toad Frogs. Some scien- tists say the snake has far better taste than the French- man when it comes to choosing its food. The Frog can catch more flies than Tris Speaker, with far less effort, and is about the only thing left in this grand and glorious country with any hops in it. * * * You Can’t Fool a Horse-Fly Mike and Pat were telling stories. During the conversation a fly lit on Pat’s nose. “What kind of a fly is that, Moike?” asked Pat. “Why, that’s a horse-fly, Pat.” “Begorra, Moike, and what’s a horse-fly?” “Why, a horse-fly, Pat, is a fly that lights on a horse’s neck.” “You don’t mean to say O’im a horse’s neck, do you, you dirty blaggard?” “No, Pat, but you can’t fool a fly.”