Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, March 1924 · page 59 of 71
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #57 — page 59: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Captain Billy's Whiz Bang* (a humor magazine) contains several short jokes and anecdotes, all referencing **Prohibition-era America** (1920s-1930s). **"Going Back to Her Youth"** depicts Mandy, a Black hotel maid, searching guest rooms for leftover alcohol—illegal under Prohibition. She discovers a bottle labeled "Plato" (likely a patent medicine containing alcohol, which technically circumvented Prohibition laws). The porter warns her against drinking it; the humor derives from her defiant response. **The Volstead reference** alludes to the Volstead Act, which enforced Prohibition. **"The Robbinsdale Gallery of Art"** is a rural grocer's joke: he won't sell "bathin' beauty postcards" because he enjoys looking at them himself—mild sexual humor. **Final exchanges** include a beer advertisement (promoting near-beer, a legal alcohol-free substitute) and jokes about patent medicines like Peruna and Taniac—products marketed as medicinal but often alcohol-heavy, exploiting Prohibition loopholes. The overall tone mocks Prohibition enforcement and the hypocrisy of "medicinal" alcohol sales.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
54 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang Going Back to Her Youth Mandy, the colored maid in a small-town hotel, was in the habit of looking for empty bottles in the dresser drawers of traveling men who looked as if they wouldn’t shake hands with Mr. Volstead if properly introduced, and quite often her search was rewarded by finding an inch or two of booze in the “dead soldiers.” One morning she found a full bottle of what looked like gin, and just as she made her discovery the colored porter came in and read the label on the bottle. It read “Plato,” or something like that. “Mandy, woman,” said the porter, “you ain’t goin’ to drink dat, is you?” “Well,” said Mandy, bellicosely, “I ain’t goin’ to do nothin’ else.” “Yes, you is, woman, yes you is.” * * * Breathes there a man with soul so dead Who never to himself hath said: “I’ll take a good near beer instead.” * * * The Robbinsdale Gallery of Art Customer—How much are them bathin’ beauty postcards, Lem? Village Grocer—Dunno as I want to sell ’em, Ike—I kinda like to look at ’em of an evenin’. * * * There is no fun making love to any girl unless she thinks you are in earnest. * * * Peruna—They say that turning on the gas is a quick and easy death. Tanlao—I wouldn’t try it. My father suffered from gas for years.