Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, February 1922 · page 62 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #30 — page 62: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Whiz Bang*, a 1920s-era men's humor magazine, contains several short jokes reflecting contemporary attitudes toward marriage and gender relations. The opening section ("For Men Only") presents cynical aphorisms about marriage as a trap—contrasting poker's chance-based nature with marriage's certainty of loss. Women are stereotyped as materialistic, wanting husbands for financial support then endless consumption. "Our Carpenter Hero" is an extended pun featuring carpentry/building terminology applied to a man's restaurant visit: he "hammered," the girl wore a "sash," he sought a "square meal," the place was "plane," he "planked" himself down, "braced" his legs, "bit" into a Parker House roll, had dirty "nails," faced the "stairs" of others, spoke with a "level" glance, "bolted" food, and "shingled" off a dollar. The remaining brief jokes are slapstick-style humor about babies causing noise complaints and a misunderstanding about "tickling" (likely implying flirtation). The tone throughout is dismissive of women and family life—standard for this era's male-oriented humor magazines.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
60 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang For Men Only When you play poker you take a chance; when you marry you have no chance. * * * Maids want nothing but husbands; after that they want everything. * * * Most of the women who cry at weddings have been married themselves. * * * Our Carpenter Hero He “hammered” on the door; was answered by a girl who wore a white “sash,” and asked if he could get a “square” meal. He “saw” that the place was “plane” but clean, and “planking” himself down to the table, he “braced” his legs beneath the chair, and “bit” into a Parker “House” roll. His “nails” were rather dirty, but he met the “stairs” of those about him with a “level” glance. After “bolting” his food, he “shingled” off a dollar bill, paid the girl, opin- ing that it was a good place to “board.” * * * The tenants who formerly lived on the floor above said that our baby balled them out. * * * Hi Say, Chappie Maybelle (coquettishly)—You tickle me, Duke. The Duke—My word, what a strange re- quest!