Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, April 1923 · page 34 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #44 — page 34: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Captain Billy's Whiz Bang* (a humor magazine popular in the 1920s-30s) contains several brief satirical pieces and jokes: The opening story references "Gallagher and Shean," likely a famous vaudeville comedy duo, using their names for a domestic reconciliation joke where a child suggests her estranged parents role-play intimacy. "The Height of Indifference" is a humorous definition mocking emotional detachment in trivial situations. The Laertes quote satirizes human nature, suggesting informers and flatterers are more dangerous than animals. A fake Irving Berlin song title jokes about romantic regret. The final items mock editorial pretension (a lazy editor making advances to young female poets) and contain a double-negative joke about modesty and battleships, likely a risqué reference to naval displays or military masculinity. The tone throughout is lighthearted, bawdy humor typical of early 20th-century American comedy magazines.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
34 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang Oh! Mister Gallagher! Oh! Nursie Shean The Gallaghers were not on very good terms. They had had no quarrel; they had simply drifted apart. Little Joan, the only daughter, had observed the estrangement with sorrow; and one day at breakfast she was struck with a bright idea. “Daddy,” she exclaimed, joyously, “why don’t you pretend that mummy is nursie, and give her a nice big kiss?” * * * “The Height of indifference” TO SPILL COFFEE ON YOUR LAP AND NOT CARE WHICH LEG IT RUNS DOWN. * * * When once asked which creature gives the worst bite, Laertes replied: “Of wild beasts, the Informer; of tame beasts, the Flatterer.” * * * Song Hit Not By Irving Berlin (The audience will join in on the chorus) “My Heart Is Broken Since I Left the Girl I Kissed Behind.” * * * “A young lady, with a poem, wishes to submit it to the editor,” announced the stenographer. “I’ll be glad to look over her lines,” replied Gus, who was using the editorial chair as a loafing place. * * * No real modest girl will not look at a battleship when it is stripped for action.