Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, March 1921 · page 65 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #18 — page 65: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three brief jokes typical of 1920s satirical humor: **"Lingo of the Lingerie"** is a double-entendre joke. A saleswoman complains about being shifted between departments—hats, dresses, lingerie, stockings—ending at "eight." The boy friend's response ("I'll look you up tomorrow at eight") suggests he's interested in meeting her during her lingerie department shift, implying sexual interest rather than genuine concern for her job satisfaction. The humor relies on innuendo about "lingerie" and the woman's naïveté. **"Evolution of a Flea"** mocks evolution theory through wordplay: a flea corrects a professor's claim that humans evolved from monkeys by asserting it "came from a dog"—a literal, absurd reversal suggesting the flea's own origins, not humanity's. **"Only at Night"** presents a wife's separation complaint: her husband tears up her clothes only when going to bed, implying aggressive or violent sexual behavior. The joke's dark humor treats domestic violence as comedic material. These reflect period attitudes toward women, sexuality, and violence that modern readers would find offensive.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang 63 Lingo of the Lingerie She was a fair-haired, fluffy little thing, who had taken a position as saleswoman in a department store. A few days later she met a boy friend and both stopped to have a little chat. “How do you like your job?” inquired the boy friend. “Oh, I like it very much,” said the fluffy one. “Only, they shift me about too much. At twelve o’clock I’m in hats, at three I’m in dresses, at four I’m in lingerie, at six I’m in stockings, and—” “I’ll look you up tomorrow at eight,” said he. * * * Evolution of a Flea “The evolution theory,” said the professor, “is that we all came from monkeys.” “That’s wrong,” said the flea, biting him on his bald head, “I came from a dog.” * * * Only at Night “He does it when no one’s about, just as we’re go- ing to bed,” explained a Kingston wife, applying for separation against her husband, who, she asserted, was always tearing up her clothes, etc. * * * Only eight months to wait for the second October Whiz Bang annual.