Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, June 1921 · page 51 of 67
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #21 — page 51: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three separate satirical items typical of 1920s American humor magazines: 1. **Mary and Doug reference**: Gossip about Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks (silent film stars), joking that their staying home generates more scandal than their public appearances. The "Nevada" reference alludes to rumors of marital trouble and potential annulment. 2. **Arkansas Honeymoon joke**: A crude sexual double-entendre. The groom's angry rejection of the conductor's offer of "a berth" (bed) is meant to be funny because the newlywed misinterprets it as an insult—implying the conductor thinks they don't need private accommodations for intimate relations. 3. **Ireland joke**: A dark political gibe. Joining the Royal Irish Constabulary during Ireland's independence struggle (early 1920s) was considered so unpatriotic that doing so seems evidence of insanity. The page demonstrates the magazine's mix of celebrity gossip, ribald humor, and political satire aimed at contemporary readers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
50 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang luminous planet it must do its sparkle; cast its lesser light, until the fact that it does not glow at every gay party can cause more comment than the mere presence, thereat, would cause. Mary and Doug. are becoming more talked of because they stay home than because they step out. Of course, Mary and Doug. have something to chat of among themselves again, now that Nevada is talking marriage annulment again. We still remain firm in our predictions of months ago that Nevada has more talk than annulment in her system, so far as the Fairbanks family is concerned. * * * An Arkansas Honeymoon A young, newly married couple boarded a through train, bound for Little Rock to spend the honeymoon. The young man at once began looking for the Pullman conductor, it being a night train. Finally he found that official and began: “Say, Mister, me an’ my wife here just got married an’ we want the best ’commoda- tions you’ve got on this train.” “You are looking for a berth, I presume?” queried the conductor. “Thunderation! No!” shouted the irate groom. “Didn’t I tell you that me an’ my wife just got mar- ried?” * * * A London man who went to Dublin to join the Royal Irish Constabulary was arrested as insane. In view of the present condition of Ireland the evidence against him seems conclusive.