Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, April 1923 · page 13 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #44 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several short humorous anecdotes typical of 1920s American satirical magazines: **"Sureasell No Minister"** mocks assumptions about respectability. A boarding house keeper assumes an elderly man in formal black clothes is a clergyman worthy of saying grace, but he rudely refuses—revealing appearances deceive. **"Ocean Voyage to Nassau"** uses seasickness humor: a passenger won't have dinner "much longer" (implying vomiting), and later jokes about swallowing the moon, playing on nausea and disorientation at sea. **"Lesson on Etiquette"** presents conventional street-walking rules, then subverts them by quoting "Billy Sunday" (the famous evangelist-turned-moralist) making crude commentary about low-cut blouses and hell—satirizing his hypocritical moralizing about women's fashion. **Final anecdote** features two drunk drivers; the ironic punchline is that the passenger criticizes the driver's curves, unaware the *passenger* is actually driving—mocking drunk logic. These jokes rely on period-specific references (Billy Sunday's actual moralistic crusades, 1920s fashion anxieties) and rough, working-class humor typical of the era's bawdy magazines.
📄 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 13 Sureasell No Minister The newcomer at the seaside boarding house was an elderly man with a solemn expression of countenance, black clothes and a little made-up black bow. It was surmised that he was some kind of a minister; so Mrs. Jones thought it would be only a nice compliment to ask him to say grace. The new guest did not appear to hear, and when she repeated her request he turned a lack-lustre eye upon her and grunted: “If you’re speaking to me, you’ll have to shout like hell; I’m as deaf as a post.” * * * An Ocean Voyage to Nassau Overheard at sea: “How long have you had dinner?” “About an hour, but I won’t have it much longer.” (Ten minutes later.) “Is the moon up?” “It is if I swallowed it.” * * * Whiz Bang’s Lesson On Etiquette When a gentleman and lady were walking down the street the lady should walk inside of the gentleman. * * * “HELL IS FULL OF LOW-CUT BLOUSES,” WHOOPS BILLY SUNDAY, JUST THE THING FOR THE CLIMATE, TOO. * * * Two intoxicated men were motoring on a mountain road. “Take thosh curves eashy, Joe, you make me nervoush.” “Whatinel you talkin’ about, Bill, you’re drivin’ thish car.”