Category: Humor
-
Democracy of the Joke And Lack of German Humor Discussed by Leacock
On the very week that America entered World War I, Stephen Leacock explained in an article how one of the Allies’ unheralded strengths in the battle of ideas was their sense of humor, while one of Germany’s greatest weaknesses was their lack thereof: “Do you know what is the most democratic form of literature? It is […]
-
The Funniest Things in the Current Plays
What were the most uproarious lines in theatrical productions from a century ago? Reading most of them mostly confirms my belief that people weren’t funny until the late 1970s or early 1980s. But this line from Have a Heart by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse was at least somewhat funny, reminiscent of something Woody Allen might […]
-
Three Stories a Year Are Enough for a Writer
When I was in late elementary school, my grandfather got me a book collection of Ring Lardner’s “You Know Me Al” comic strips, about the hijinks of a major league baseball player and his teammates. The comic strip was published in the 1920s, several years after the original fiction short stories that made the lead […]
-
Russia cartoon – “World: Gracious! What does this all mean?”
This cartoon from 1917 about Russia. “World: Gracious! What does this all mean?” From Sunday, March 18, 1917
-
What Can an Actor Do When He Retires?
The famed (at the time) actor E.H. Sothern had recently retired from the stage in 1916, which was of course the only real form of acting for anybody who spoke words, since the first film with sound The Jazz Singer wouldn’t come out until 1927. Sothern penned an essay in which he answered the title question […]
-
Washington’s Letter Vanishes from Baltimore
Shortly after George Washington was elected as president, Bishop John Carroll sent him a letter on behalf of American Catholics congratulating him on the post and stressing the need to maintain religious liberty. Washington wrote back, saying, in part: “As Mankind become more liberal they will be more apt to allow that all those who […]
SundayMagazine.org 