Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, August 1921 · page 51 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #23 — page 51: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from a 1920s satirical magazine contains a collection of brief jokes and witticisms rather than political cartoons. The humor relies on wordplay and gender stereotypes typical of the era: **Content includes:** A Kipling quotation about socializing; animal fables; puns ("May I hold your Palm, Olive?"—plays on the names Olive and Buoy); and gendered jokes stereotyping women as frivolous and dangerous (a woman's gossip causes injury; women are blamed for marital discord in St. Louis). **The desk clerk joke** satirizes class pretension—a low-ranking hotel employee inflates his self-importance while denigrating bell hops as minor figures. **The basement window sign** advertises cheap food (10 cents), suggesting the magazine's working-class readership. Overall, this reflects Whiz Bang's accessible, irreverent humor aimed at ordinary Americans, mixing mild social observation with conventional period prejudices.
📄 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 49 As Kipling Remarks You will take your fun where you find it But you'll find while you're taking your fun The more you mix with the many The less you will care for the one. * * * Resurrected “A little bit goes a long ways,” said the goose, as she pushed the pebble over the preci- pice. “That remains to be seen,” said the pup as he wagged his tail and walked away. * * * A Clean Joke, Let’s Hope May I hold your Palm, Olive? Not on your Life, Buoy. * * * Oh, frivolity, thy name is woman. * * * What was the cause of that scar you have on your head? A woman told me that her husband was in St. Louis. * * * “This hotel is a book of life,” chortled the blonde and boastful desk clerk, “with me the hero thrilling its pages, and you poor bell hops —merely the pages.” * * * Sign In Basement Window Coffee and a roll downstairs, 10 cents.