Life, 1929-01-04 · page 15 of 36
Life — January 4, 1929 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes early automobile ownership through a three-part comparison: what car advertisements promise versus what instruction manuals actually require, alongside a humorous poem about automotive frustrations. The main cartoon depicts a silhouetted couple in a car at night. The caption reads "Cave Maiden: I must go in, dear! Hit me goodnight"—a dark joke about automotive danger. The woman gestures toward the moon, suggesting she's uncomfortable or frightened during a romantic drive. The upper text mocks the gap between marketing claims (cars require "nothing to worry about") and reality (batteries need maintenance, body bolts require tightening, etc.). The poem humorously catalogs car troubles using repetitive "something" language to emphasize how many problems plague early automobiles. This reflects early 1900s skepticism about cars as reliable transportation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Life Why Motorists Go Mad What the Advertisement Says 1, “Step into your new Broom on New Year's Day. Tramp on the throttle with carefree verve while the smiling speedom- eter soars to 30, 50, 90 miles per hour. The Broom is engined and chassised for stag- gering speed, from day of delivery to crack of doom.” Advt. 2. “Here is a car designed and destined to run limitless miles with never a carking care for those tiresome, noisome chores that rob motoring of its majesty. With a Kosy Koop, you have nothing to worry about.” Advt. 3. “Makes a rutted road ride like the sheeny surface of a grand piano. The Big Blurb revels in roughness.” Advt. What the Instruction Book Says 1. “During the first 500 miles, a new Broom should not be driven over 20 miles per hour—preferably not over 15 miles— and it is best not to exceed 20 miles per hour for the first thousand miles.” Jn- struction Book. 2. “The battery of the Kosy Koop is un- derneath the front floorboards and should be filled with distilled water about once a week, If the terminals become corroded, scrape or scrub off the green deposits and smear with heavy cup grease.” Instruc- tion Book. 3. “Every 1000 miles the body-bolts of the Big Blurb should be gone over and tightened up.” Instruction Book. 13 Blank Form for a Humorous Verse Te all the frails in all the something some- thin Would only something something fall for me, Then I would somehow something try to something And something something something make whoopee. But, as things are, it’s something some- thing different— I feel so something something as I moan’t; Té only frails would something me for something! The something trouble is they some- thing don’t! H. F. Cave Mawen: I must go in, dear! Hit me goodnight. comicbooks.com