Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, March 1924 · page 17 of 71
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #57 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains satirical humor pieces typical of 1920s American magazines. The jokes target: **Social pretension**: A nouveau-riche New Yorker assumes a housemaid comes with a rental property; she witily refuses to be "included." **Modern speed culture**: "Speed babies" (young people obsessed with fast cars) would find slow turtles boring—satirizing the era's car obsession. **Old-fashioned prudishness**: Mrs. Murphy hiding money in her bustle dates the joke; "leave behind" is a pun on her posterior. **Women's fashion**: The verse mocks women's clothing as preventing them from striking matches (performing basic tasks), likely referencing flapper styles or suffragette-era dress debates. **Rural superstition vs. modern danger**: Sven Torkelson's horseshoe luck fails against a "flivver" (Model T Ford), contrasting old folk beliefs with new technology. **Marriage mismatch**: Conflicting values between conservative and modern spouses create constant friction. Overall, the page satirizes generational and cultural clashes of the Jazz Age through brief, punchy gags.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Farmyard Fun and Filosofy 15 No Gilded Cage For Her A newly-rich New Yorker was being shown by a pretty housemaid through a gorgeous home he intended to rent. “I say, pretty one,” he remarked, “are you to be let with it?” “No, sir,” she replied, “I’m to be let alone.” * * * * A LOT OF SPEED BABIES WOULD ENJOY A DAY AT THE ZOO WATCHING THE TURTLES WHIZZ PAST. * * * * This Must Be Old “Mrs. Murphy died and left $2,000 sewed up in her bustle.” “My, what a lot of money to leave behind.”—*Puppet*. * * * * Women, women, I’ve been thinking And I’ll tell you with despatch You must change your mode of dressing If you wish to scratch a match. * * * * Robbinsdale News Item Deacon Miller’s hired hand, Sven Torkelson, got bumped by a flivver yesterday as he stooped to pick up a horse shoe for good luck. * * * * The man with a flannel nightgown sense of morality, who is married to the woman with a silk pajama conception of life, never lacks for excitement.