Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, July 1921 · page 57 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #22 — page 57: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains brief jokes and satirical items typical of 1920s American humor magazines. Key content: **Fashion satire**: The piece mocking "knee pants for men" references a fashion trend, sarcastically suggesting men might wear colorful silk stockings with visible runs ("Jacob's ladders"), mocking both the trend and male vanity. **Wordplay jokes**: "Alphabetical Stuff" consists of phonetic puns (Y Y U R = "Why are you?"), a common period humor format. **Teacher/student joke**: A classic setup where "Willie" deliberately misinterprets "hangar" as a place where airplanes are "hung" rather than housed. **Town comparison**: A dark joke contrasting small-town morality—suggesting Montevideo, Minnesota has more infidelity than neighboring Albert Lea (where such behavior supposedly had fatal consequences). **Social criticism**: The final item attacks young women wearing "wrist bottles" (likely flasks, referencing Prohibition-era drinking) and corsets, questioning parental oversight—reflecting period anxieties about changing female behavior and morality.
📄 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 55 Why do you wear your stockings inside out? Because there is a hole on the other side. * * * A news item says knee pants for men are bound to come. I wonder if the women will stand on the street corner and admire our shapely (?) laigs? And will men wear silk hose of green and pink and purple hues, with “Jacob’s ladders” showing? Let us pray. * * * Alphabetical Stuff Y Y U R Y Y U B I C U R Y Y 4 Me. But we won’t keep you in suspense—Two wise you are, two wise you be; I see you are, too wise for me. * * * Teacher—“Willie, can you tell me the definition of an hangar?” Willie—“A place where airplanes are hung.” * * * A Montevidious Comparison (From the Montevideo, Minn., American) In Albert Lea, the other day, a man was shot dead when found with another man’s wife. If this practice were strictly adhered to in Montevideo the undertakers would be rushed to death. * * * Pertinent Question (From Portland Oregonian.) Young womanhood that wears wrist bottles and check corsets is not typical of the best. Do their mothers know their route?