Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, March 1921 · page 31 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #18 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three brief humorous anecdotes typical of early-20th-century American satirical magazines: **"The Deadly Mouse"** jokes about gender stereotypes. A young man praises a woman's "bravery" for remaining calm during a mouse scare at a dance, but his sister reveals the truth: Mary wasn't brave—she simply wore old garters, implying she didn't care about her appearance enough to be embarrassed. **"For Private Circulation"** is a flirtation joke playing on the double meaning of "print" (publish vs. physical contact). **"Baldheaded Bad Luck"** appears to reference WWI (the ship is torpedoed). The humor relies on a dark punchline: Bill rescues drowning men by their hair but cannot help a bald man, so he angrily tells the bald man to "go down and come up right"—meaning come up with hair so he can be rescued. All three reflect period attitudes about appearance and social propriety, with edgy wartime humor.
📄 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 29 The Deadly Mouse “What a brave, brave girl Mary is!” said a young man in enthusiastic tones. “Mary brave? How so?” inquired the young man’s sister. “Why, at the dance last night,” said the young man, “she was the only girl who kept her seat and re- mained perfectly cool when the mouse appeared.” “Pshaw!” said his sister. “That wasn’t bravery. Mary told me afterwards that she had her old garters on.” * * * For Private Circulation “May I print a kiss upon your lips?” “Yes, provided you promise not to publish it.” * * * Baldheaded Bad Luck The transport had just been torpedoed. After a little struggle in the moisture, Bill found himself safely within the confines of an empty life- boat. Realizing that he was safe himself he began to look around to see who needed assistance. Observing several men endeavoring to keep afloat nearby, he reached over the side and grabbed two of them by the hair and dragged them into the boat. Suddenly a bald-headed man appeared alongside the boat. Peering over the side, Bill slapped him on the head and cried angrily: “Gwan down and come up right.”