Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, March 1922 · page 59 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #31 — page 59: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page collects brief humorous items typical of 1920s American satirical magazines. The humor relies on: **"An Immediate Saving"**: A dark joke playing on Jewish immigrant stereotypes (the Yiddish-accented "Ikey" and maid "shixa"). The punchline: despite his wife's death, the protagonist economizes by ordering only one egg for breakfast—mocking both grief-stricken priorities and perceived Jewish frugality. **"Fancy Poetry"**: Wartime humor (likely WWI-era, given the "Paris falling" reference). The jokes juxtapose tragedy with petty concerns—a blown-off hand mattering less if it wasn't the wage-earning hand; a garter falling while discussing military collapse. **"Bang! Bang!"**: A double-entendre joke where "bust" (clothing measurement) sounds like gunfire, creating false alarm humor. The page emphasizes working-class perspectives, ethnic humor stereotypes, and irreverent treatment of serious subjects (death, war, female bodies)—typical of Whiz Bang's lowbrow satirical approach targeting post-war American audiences.
📄 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 57 An Immediate Saving Ikey kicked in the bathroom door and dis-covered Rebecca dead in the bath tub. For a moment he gazed horror stricken, then rushed to the head of the stairs and shouted to the maid, “Mary, Mary!” “Yes, sir,” answered the shixa. “Only von egg for breakfast dis morning, Mary.” * * * Ad In Theatrical Paper Engagement wanted. Small part, such as dead body or outside shouts. * * * Fancy Poetry Father got his hand blown off. That was a terrible sin. It could have been worse if it was the hand that he had his wages in. * * * “Paris is falling,” delicately hinted the maiden, as her escort’s garter snapped and fell over his shoe-top. * * * “Trash!” exclaimed the president of the Ash Men’s Union, as the secretary finished reading the reports. * * * Bang! Bang! Lady went into a store and asked for a camisole. “What bust?” asked the salesman. “I didn’t hear anything,” she replied. * * * Tell the truth and shame the family.