Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, August 1921 · page 55 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #23 — page 55: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains four brief jokes typical of 1920s humor magazines: **"Moonology"** is a pun-heavy joke using lunar phases to describe a man's misfortune: a newborn ("new moon"), drunken celebration ("full moon"), poverty ("last quarter"), and a beating from his mother-in-law ("total eclipse"). **"Impossible"** presents an absurdist challenge: shaving a gnat's back with a monkey wrench—deliberately nonsensical humor. **"Sunburned"** is a cautionary rhyme about a young woman wearing her sister's skimpy swimsuit at the beach, getting sunburned, with a pun on "bliss/blisters." **"Ah Ha! Ah!"** is flirtatious banter where a man hesitates to kiss a woman due to brevity of acquaintance, and she coyly suggests his reluctance is merely timing—implying she's open to it later in the evening. The humor relies on wordplay, puns, and mild risqué innuendo typical of pre-Depression American popular comedy magazines.
📄 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 53 Moonology The wife of a man named Moon presented him with a fine boy. This was a new moon. The father celebrated the event by drinking himself full of hootch. This was a full moon. When he awoke from his stupor all he had left in his pocket was twenty-five cents. This was the last quarter. His mother-in-law took this and rapped him over the head with a club. This was the total eclipse. * * * Impossible It can't be done. What? Shave the hair off a gnat's back with a monkey wrench. * * * Sunburned The sun was hot upon the beach Her suit was little sister's. She thought she had a good time, but All is not bliss that blisters. * * * Ah Ha! Ah! He—I suppose it would be quite improper for me to kiss you on such a short acquaint-ance. She—Yes, but it's quite early in the evening yet.