Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, August 1921 · page 28 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #23 — page 28: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Captain Billy's Whiz Bang* (a humor magazine popular in the early 20th century) consists of a "Dear Captain" advice column featuring comedic Q&A exchanges. The humor relies on wordplay and absurdist logic rather than political satire. The jokes include: a fountain pen that only leaks when it contains ink (logical absurdity); the definition of curiosity as testing soup's density with a finger (physical comedy); patriotic preference for America over Paris (mild nationalist humor); puns about a musician having "drums in his ears" (playing on "drums" as both musical instruments and ear anatomy); and exaggerated movie-influenced romantic advice about chest-heaving. One correspondent signs as "Jim Crowe"—likely just a common name at the time, not necessarily the later segregation laws reference. The satire targets everyday social pretension, romantic advice, and common sense failures rather than specific political events or figures.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
26 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang Dear Cap. Bill—Judging from your last letters to me your fountain pen must leak all of the time. Why not get a new one?—Maggie Zeen. No, you are mistaken. It leaks only when I've got ink in it. * * * Dear Cap—Can you give me an example of the height of curiosity?—Otto Mattick. A woman sticking her finger into a bowl of soup to see if it leaves a dent. * * * My Dear Captain—I admire you very much and wish to tell you that I am a neat, nifty and nice little girl. All of my hats are from Paris, though I must confess my stockings were all made in America. Would you like to see Paris? —Chloro Form. No, I'm patriotic. I'd rather see America first. * * * Dear Cap—How come that your hired man, Gus, is a born musician?—Simon Konshush. Because he has drums in his ears. * * * Dear Capt. Billy—How can I impress upon my sweetheart that I am really in love with her?—Jim Crowe. While talking to her, heave your chest up and down like the men in the movies.