Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, January 1921 · page 26 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #16 — page 26: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous advice column from *Captain Billy's Whiz Bang*, a post-WWI American humor magazine. The satire uses absurd wordplay and puns to mock various social topics: **The jokes:** - **Engagement vs. battle**: Sexual innuendo about marriage - **Wedding bells as "lemon peals"**: Puns on sound/citrus - **Liquor problem**: Defines alcohol as "solution"—a dig at Prohibition-era debates - **Corn crop yielding "350 gallons"**: Implies illegal whiskey distillation from corn during Prohibition - **Technical question answered with jargon**: Mocks pretentious expertise; a farmer asks about bacterial proteins, receiving legitimate medical terminology that's uselessly complex for rural life The publication targets contemporary concerns (Prohibition, farming, marriage) through crude humor, fake-name contributors (Ida Clare, Katinka Stinka, A. Boozem Friend), and deliberately absurd answers. The tone is populist and anti-intellectual, appealing to working-class readers skeptical of authority.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
24 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang Dear Captain Bill—You've been in the army, Cap, so will you kindly tell us the difference between an engagement and a battle?—**Ida Clare.** Yes, Ida, and I'm married, too. The engagement, you realize, takes place before the marriage. * * * Dear Captain Bull—What are wedding bells?— **Katinka Stinka.** Lemon peals. * * * Dear Captain Billy—What is the solution of the liquor problem?—**A. Boozem Friend.** A solution of malt and hops containing about 5 per cent of water. * * * Dear Farmer Bill—How's your corn crop this year? What did it go to the acre?—**Acorn Farmer.** Wa'al, I reckon it'll go about 350 gallons to the acre, by gum. * * * Dear Doctor Billy—Will you kindly inform as to the bacterial proteins for cutaneous tests?—**Sheesa Whopper.** She sure is a whopper for a farmer to answer. In fact, I found it necessary to call in the professional advice of old Doc Yak, who gives this reply: The bacterial proteins are staphylococcus aureus, micro- coccus tetragenus, diphtheroid, streptococcus viridans, non-haemolyticus and pneumococcus. (Thank you, doctor.)