Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, February 1922 · page 40 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #30 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three unrelated short comedic sketches typical of 1920s satirical magazines. **"Farm Life"** mocks both labor relations and changing social expectations. The joke is that a farmer's hired man has become so demanding and entitled—insisting on short hours, car privileges, and even influencing the farmer to shave his whiskers—that he's essentially domesticated his employer. The punchline relies on the implication of an inappropriate relationship ("kissed him good-night"), playing on period anxiety about masculine propriety. **"Wah, Wah!"** uses dialect humor (common but offensive by modern standards) featuring a character choosing a chocolate-covered watermelon—a reference to racial stereotypes prevalent in early-20th-century American entertainment. **"Sic 'em, Tige!"** is a simple doctor-patient joke where a sword swallower's occupation explains his appetite problems—an absurdist punchline. The "Little Joe" quote offers casual dice-game commentary. These sketches reflect the magazine's mix of ribald humor, ethnic caricature, and nonsense comedy aimed at male readers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
38 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang Farm Life “I see you are keeping your hired man all right now, Ezra.” “Yep, keeping him all right.” “He seems satisfied, too. How’d you do it?” “Did everything he asked me to. Let him work only four hours and eat with the family. He got to complain-ing of dull evenings, so every night I give him the use of a car of his own, and the money to spend, to go to the movies in town.” “That ought to satisfy him.” “It didn’t, though. He complained of his room, and so I coaxed my son to trade rooms with him. Then he seemed more settled like.” “I notice you’ve cut off your whiskers, Ezra.” “Yeah. Some more of that hired man’s notions.” “How’s that?” “He complained they tickled him every time I kissed him good-night.” * * * Wah, Wah! “Golly, Moses! Dey got strawberries and cherries and all kinds o’ fruit covered wit candy. What kind shall ah git?” “Git a choc’lat covered watermillion.” * * * Sic ’em, Tige! “What you need is a tonic to sharpen your appetite,” said the Doctor. “By the way, what is your occupation?” “I am a sword swallower in a circus side-show,” replied the caller. * * * Little Joe says, “They am jest as many sebbens on de dice as anything else, ony dey is bashfull.”