Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, February 1922 · page 20 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #30 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three unrelated joke segments typical of early 20th-century American humor magazines: 1. **"Useless Effort"**: Mocks Irish tourists through the "Paddy Ryan" character (a common ethnic stereotype of the era). The joke plays on illogical reasoning—the guide brings him up a mountain to view a valley, defeating the purpose. 2. **"And He Got It"**: A burglar joke where a policeman sarcastically tells a safecracker he's "working too hard" and needs "arrest"—a pun on overexertion versus legal consequences. 3. **"It Rained Keys, Bo!"**: A risqué joke implying the narrator received multiple offers from other women when waiting at the apartment, rather than from the original girl. The final line is self-aware commentary about joke magazines' limitations. These are simple, pun-based humor pieces targeting working-class readers, with light mockery of Irish immigrants and criminal types—standard fare for period humor publications.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
18 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang Useless Effort Paddy Ryan in Ireland inherited a pile of money and decided to tour France. He hired a guide who steered him up a mountain. After a full day's climb they reached the summit. “See ze beautiful valley,” said the guide to Paddy, pointing below. “Sure,” stormed the Irishman, “if it's so dom beautiful in the valley what the divil for did you bring me 'way up here?” * * * And He Got It “You are working too hard,” said a police-man to a man who was drilling a hole in a safe at 2:00 o'clock in the morning. “What do you mean?” asked the burglar in a disconcerted tone. “I mean you need arrest,” answered the policeman. * * * It Rained Keys, Bo! I met a wonderful girl yesterday afternoon, and she invited me up to her apartment. That night she told me to stand in front of the door and whistle three times and she would throw down the key. Boys, I never saw so many keys in all my life. * * * I could print a lot of real funny stories, but what's the use, you would only laugh at them. comicbooks.com