Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, February 1922 · page 51 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #30 — page 51: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page collects brief humorous anecdotes and jokes typical of *Whiz Bang*, a 1920s-era satirical magazine known for ribald humor and social commentary. **"Vengeance at Last"** mocks literary pretension—specifically poets writing derivative "Apologies to Poe" (imitations of Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem "The Raven"). The joke imagines someone literally beating such poets. The remaining items are standalone gags: "A Tough Break" jokes about a horse named "cigarette" and gambling losses; "Da, Da, Daddy" is a novelty song lyric about attraction; jokes about Turkish baths, marital complaint, and the final double entendre about women's undergarments (a "combination" was a one-piece undergarment). **The satire targets:** literary pretension, urban leisure activities (gambling, bathhouses), and marriage friction—all common working-class anxieties. The humor is crude and lowbrow, reflecting the magazine's appeal to soldiers and working men post-WWI.
📄 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 49 Vengeance at Last Suddenly there came a tapping as if someone were scrap- ping, slapping, rapping all the poets who write “Apologies to Poe”—just outside my chamber door. * * * Old Ben Jo’ chewed slippery ellum; Slippery ellum, All the dern day long. * * * A Tough Break Had a great tip on a horse yesterday called cigarette, but I didn’t have enough tobaccer. * * * Da, Da, Daddy I love them all, I love them all, Please take me in swimmin’ With bowlegged women. For I love them all. * * * “They sure soak you here,” Gus remarked as he paid for a Turkish bath. * * * “How hoarse you are this morning.” “Yes, my husband got home very late last night.” * * * My wife and I have been holding hands for twelve years. If we ever let go we’ll kill one another. * * * My bride is a nice girl, but she sleeps with her knees up and the draft gives me a cold. * * * I’d like to see something in a lady’s com- bination. So would I.