Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, April 1922 · page 41 of 67
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #32 — page 41: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a collection of brief jokes and humorous one-liners typical of 1920s satirical magazines. Key references: **"Moonshine than bullets"** — A tramp prefers illegal whisky over combat, mocking Prohibition-era enforcement debates. **"Ikey, Jakey, and Whiskey"** — Ethnic stereotypes (Jewish names paired with alcohol) playing on period prejudices. **"George Washington washed the country"** — Satirizes Progressive Era reformers' moralistic crusades as ineffectual. **"Flivver was twenty horsepower"** — A Ford Model T joke; "flivver" was slang for cheap cars. The humor mocks advertisements' exaggerated claims versus actual performance. **"Shakespeare" / "baker"** — A pun on "handles" (manages roles versus literally handling bread). The humor is crude by modern standards, relying on ethnic caricature, sexual innuendo ("manslaughter me with kisses"), and anti-reformist sentiment. It reflects 1920s working-class sensibilities and attitudes toward Prohibition and social reform movements.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
40 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang Speaking of Colors My nose is red only when I blow it; then it's blew. * * * “My dear man,” said the kind lady, “don’t you know that whisky kills more men than bul- lets?” “I don’t dispute your word one bit,” the tramp replied, “but for my part I would rather be full of moonshine than bullets any day.” * * * She Said Thusly Manslaughter me with kisses, daddy, then crucify me with love. * * * Let us now sing that plaintive melody in three keys, Ikey, Jakey, and Whiskey. The last key is where you get the spirit of the song. * * * Beautiful Optics Her eyes were as black as jet, This charming girl I knew; I kissed her, and her husband came, Now mine are jet black too. * * * George Washington washed the country and the reformers dried it. * * * “Do you like Shakespearean roles?” “Our baker never handles them.” * * * They told me my flivver was twenty horsepower but I’ve only been able to locate four plugs.