Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #29 — page 52: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a humorous satire about Columbus discovering America, structured as an absurdist joke. The humor relies on anachronism and role-reversal: Columbus encounters Native Americans who are apparently *expecting* him, having received his "cablegram" (telegraph) in advance. They've waited to be "discovered," and Columbus erects a commemorative tablet. The final punchline—"After that, he moved to Ohio, and anyone passing can see Columbus in Ohio"—is a play on words: the city of Columbus, Ohio exists, so the joke suggests Columbus himself relocated there. The brief "Recruit, Boys!" joke below mocks military recruitment by contrasting officers' commissions with enlisted soldiers' "straight salary." The satire targets American historical mythology by making the discovery narrative absurd and contemporary.