Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, April 1922 · page 14 of 67
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #32 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Captain Billy's Whiz Bang* (a 1920s-era humor magazine) contains six brief jokes with no illustrations, reflecting the magazine's format of text-based satirical humor. The jokes target recognizable social types: the naïve post-WWI veteran seeking employment (the "fine job" of listening under train cars—doing nothing); the cheapskate stealing hotel silverware as a christening gift; the Yiddish-accented Jewish characters "Ikenstein" and "Rubenstein" (period ethnic stereotyping), where spelling ability is irrelevant to a stenographer's hiring; and the absurdly stingy man demanding rent reduction after dental work. The humor relies on absurdity, wordplay ("parenthesis for stockings"), and gentle mockery of American types. No specific political figures are referenced—this is domestic social satire aimed at postwar American readers familiar with these stereotypes and scenarios.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
12 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang **Iowa Frivol Pulls This One** An optimist is a man going up the river with a canoe, a girl, a basket, a blanket and a couple of pillows. A pessimist is the same man coming back. * * * She was so bow-legged she could wear a pair of parenthesis for stockings! * * * **The Height of Ambition** I sure got a fine job since I came out of the Army. What's that. Well, you know the fellow that hammers underneath the passenger cars, well, I help him listen. * * * **Ancient Stuff** El—"What did you give the baby when it was christened?" Ella—"A silver spoon." El—"Was it a good one?" Ella—"I'll say it was. It had 'Blackstone Hotel' on it." * * * Ikenstein—Your new stenographer iss a beaut. Can she spell?" Rubenstein—"Vat hass that to do vid it?" * * * Speaking of stingy people, I knew a fellow that had two teeth extracted and then wanted the price of his board reduced.