Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, December 1921 · page 54 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #28 — page 54: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Captain Billy's Whiz Bang* is a humor magazine containing brief jokes and quips rather than cartoons. The content reflects early 20th-century American humor: **"Essence of Sweet Peas"** uses vegetable puns (lettuce/let us, spinach/spin-ach, carrot/car) typical of period wordplay. **The Philadelphia reader joke** mocks the reader's wit by suggesting his jokes are so transparent they need tissue paper—implying they're obvious or unfunny. **"May Have Better Luck"** reports a local anecdote about failed chicken incubation, presented as humorous news. **The Mary/calf poem** jokes about women's newly shortened skirts of the 1920s-30s era, considered scandalous, making an anatomical pun (calf/leg visibility). **"The Latest Song"** parodies sentimental popular songs about baseball season and romance. **The final item** punts on "catch" (a musical round) with a weak business joke about teddy bears. The magazine traded in accessible, sometimes groan-worthy humor for mass audiences.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
52 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang Essence of Sweet Peas "The mean old thing wouldn't lettuce." "Can we take a little spin-ach?" "No, I'll see my car-rot first." * * * There is something mysteriously attractive about all mysteries—except hash. * * * A request has come from a Philadelphia reader that all our jokes be written on tissue paper so that he can see through them. * * * May Have Better Luck (From Sedalia Correspondence of Rogers Democrat) Mrs. Albert Evans didn't have good luck with her incubator. She had only thirty little chicks, but she is undaunted and she is setting again. * * * Mary wears her new short skirt, Cut just about in half; Who cares a slam 'bout Mary's lamb, Now we can see her calf? * * * The woman with a past is always glad to see a man with a present. * * * The Latest Song "Hit" By A. Balland Batt. "When the Baseball season starts, Sweet- heart, I'll be running home to you." * * * Miss Marrietta Nutt will now render the latest "catch" "The toy shop business is boom- ing since they show their Teddy bears."