Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, May 1922 · page 19 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #33 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humor column featuring crude jokes typical of 1920s American satirical magazines. The format presents readers' questions to "Captain Billy" with punchy punchline answers. The jokes rely on wordplay and cynical observations: a man marrying for money discovers his wife invested it in oil stocks (ironic reversal); a marriage is compared to a "stew" (implying chaos); a boy on Christmas morning will be happier in September (suggesting disappointment); "stage robbers" (highwaymen) are compared to expensive chorus girls; and an "undertaker" is redefined as someone following medicine (darkly implying doctors cause death). These jokes reflect 1920s anxieties about marriage, financial speculation (oil stocks were a contemporary investment craze), entertainment expenses, and cynicism toward authority figures. The humor is deliberately crude and cynical—hallmarks of the magazine's irreverent style.
📄 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 17 Questions and Answers Dear *Bill*—What would you consider as be- ing the height of absurdity?—*Ivegou Buggs.* How about the oil stock man who married a woman for her money only to learn later that she had invested it all in oil stocks? * * * Dear *Missus Billy*—Do you know anything about stews.—*Embryo Cook.* Yes, I ought to; I married one. * * * Dear *Skipper*—What is happier than a little boy on Christmas morn?—*August Fuerst.* Now, August, if you'll wait till September I'll be glad to answer your query. * * * Dear *Capt. Billy*—Did you meet any stage robbers when you were out West?—*Dainty Marie.* Yes, I took a couple of chorus girls to dinner. * * * *Capt. Billy*—What is an undertaker?—*Mike Howe.* An undertaker is a man who follows the medical profession.