Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, April 1922 · page 25 of 67
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #32 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humor advice column from *Captain Billy's Whiz Bang*, a 1920s-era satirical magazine. The page consists of humorous letters and replies that rely on ethnic and racial stereotypes common to early 20th-century American comedy. The jokes include: a play on "dates" (fruit vs. romantic outings); ethnic name-based humor (targeting Jewish and Italian names with stereotypes about wealth); crude stereotypes about Jewish and Black people's material desires; and a visual pun about fish-hooks/catchy names. The final joke about a baby named "Fish-hooks" is a simple wordplay (catchy/hooks). The page's humor heavily depends on period ethnic stereotyping that would be considered offensive today. The magazine targeted working-class readers with populist, often crude comedy. These attitudes reflect the prejudices normalized in mainstream American entertainment of that era.
📄 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 23 Dear Capt. Billy—Since I enrolled at the University, I have heard the girls talking about dates. Tell me what a date is and how to ac- quire them.—Iowa Girl. Dates grow in Palestine, Arabia, and other Oriental countries. They also flourish on the walls of telephone booths and in pool halls. Send me your picture and you will hear from me soon or I will return the picture. * * * Dear Capt. Billy—Can you recommend a stiff drink?—Bill Eltinge. Embalming fluid. * * * Dear Capt. Billy—What is your idea of an ideal job?—Abie Friedman. Pork inspector for the City of Jerusalem. * * * Dear Capt. Billy—What fish does a girl like most?—A. John. Her ring. * * * Dear Capt. Billy—Do you believe in rein- carnation,—Havana Eggie. Can't say as I do. However, should I ever be reincarnated my hopes are to be either a colored man or a Hebrew. A colored man, you know, doesn't want anything much and a He- brew usually has all he wants. * * * They called the baby Fish-hooks—it was such a "catchy" name.