Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, April 1922 · page 65 of 67
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #32 — page 65: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humor column featuring brief, punchy jokes submitted by readers under pseudonyms (many names are obvious puns: "Ina Ficks," "Shilliday," "Will E. Koppitt," "Helen Butte"). The editor replies with quips. The jokes target domestic life and wartime anxieties: - **Ina Ficks**: Rural wedding customs (father with gun, brother giving bride away) — humor about rustic formality - **Shilliday**: Rejected sentimental story deemed "too strong" — editorial humor - **Lonely Wifie**: A wife's worry about her absent husband — likely WWI-era anxiety about soldiers - **Will E. Koppitt**: A double entendre about ship-watching from apartments, with "clear the deck" and "periscope" as sexual innuendo - **Helen Butte**: Suggesting a sweetheart herd sheep (implying he's a "sheep" or foolish) This represents *Whiz Bang*'s signature irreverent, bawdy humor aimed at ordinary Americans, mixing domestic comedy with subtle adult wordplay.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
64 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang Our Rural Mail Box Ina Ficks—The father always holds the gun while brother gives the bride away. * * * Shilliday—Sorry, we can't use your story entitled “I am onions for you, kid.” It's too strong. * * * Willet Hert—Gyp, the fortune teller, can get you in touch with departed spirits. * * * Lonely Wifie—Don't worry about your hus- band while you are away. The chances are he isn't having a good time alone. * * * Will E. Koppitt—When you are sitting in an apartment and see a pretty ship go by it is either time to clear the deck or pull in your periscope. * * * Helen Butte—You win, Helen. Your sweet- heart should get a job at herding sheep this summer.