Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, January 1921 · page 64 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #16 — page 64: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Captain Billy's Whiz Bang* (a 1920s-era American humor magazine) contains four short comic poems mocking romantic and marital relationships. **"I Like 'em, God Bless 'em"** (by Flo) satirizes widowers as manipulative suitors who exploit naive women by flattering them and preying on divorcées. **Untitled verse** plays on gender double standards: men must accept paternity "on faith," while women have biological certainty—a dig at masculine insecurity. **"That Osculating Thing"** uses kissing as a metaphor for marital instability: casual romance leads to marriage, but infidelity causes divorce. **"The Alphabet of Love"** humorously reduces courtship to five steps (A-E), then puns on "E-Z" (easy) to suggest the rest is predictable or foregone. Overall, the page reflects post-WWI cynicism about marriage and gender relations, treating romance as inherently comedic and somewhat disappointing.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
62 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang I Like 'em, God Bless 'em These widowers are an elusive lot, I like 'em! They make you forego the sense you've got, I like 'em! They call you young, they think you're green, For blasé women they're beaucoup keen, They're the worst darn pests I've ever seen, I like 'em. —By Flo. * * * The best man that ever lived Must take his child on faith alone, But the worst woman that ever lived Knows that her child's her own. * * * That Osculating Thing A little kissing now and then Is why we have the married men. A little kissing, too, of course, Is why we have the quick divorce. * * * The Alphabet of Love A is the art of man and maid; B is the blush, so fair, displayed; C is the challenge in the eyes; D the dare that soon replies; E but why the rest recall? The rest is E-Z, that's all.