Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, January 1921 · page 59 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #16 — page 59: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Captain Billy's Whiz Bang* (a 1920s-era humor magazine) contains multiple brief satirical pieces: **"In a Garden"** presents ironic humor: the narrator shows mercy to a bee, rationalizing its usefulness and imagining its family, only to be stung anyway—the punchline being that good intentions don't prevent consequences. **The Adam and Eve verse** is risqué wordplay typical of the era, turning a biblical seduction into flirtation with suggestive language ("I don't care A-dam if I do"). **The geographic pun** exploits place names (Seattle/Tacoma, New Jersey/Delaware) as homophones for verbs and possessives—low-brow wordplay common to period humor magazines. **The ethnic joke** stereotypes Greeks as shopkeepers and Irish as quarrelsome—crude ethnic humor standard for the 1920s. **The final quip** about women keeping dresses up likely references the era's rising hemlines and changing fashion standards, treating female modesty as requiring exceptional willpower. All pieces reflect period attitudes: sentimental contradiction, sexual innuendo, ethnic caricature, and skepticism toward women's propriety.
📄 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 57 In a Garden As I walked along the paths this morning picking flowers, I found in the yellow heart of a Lady Slipper, a little brown bee. My first impulse was to shake him out of his honeyed abode, but as I looked at his velvety body and the sunlit rainbow wings, a foolish tender- ness surged over me. Perhaps there were baby bees at home that would starve if papa bee did not bring back honey; and how useful this little creature was, carrying the pollen from flower to flower—so I moved on, leaving him unmolested. But even as I turned away thinking these pure, sweet thoughts, the darn thing stung me. * * * When Adam in bliss Asked Eve for a kiss, She puckered her lips with a coo; With looks quite ecstatic, Gave answer emphatic: “I don’t care A-dam if I do.” —Flo. * * * And she said I must Seattle as she rose Tacoma her hair, for if I wear my nice New Jersey, what will Delaware? * * * When Greek meets Greek—they open a fruit store; but when Irish meet English they open an uproar. * * * Beats me how these girls keep their dresses up. Must be strength of mind that does it.