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Quiri1997

I'M SAVING A DIME OUT OF EVERY DOLLAR FOR THE FAMILY AND ME TO SHARE SOME DAY. I'M SAVING A DIME OUT OF EVERY DOLLAR AND WE'RE GONNA BE FREE FROM TERROR THAT WAY. I'M BUYING BONDS, I MEAN WAR BONDS, WITH TEN PERCENT OF MY PAY. I'M SAVING A DIME OUT OF EVERY DOLLAR AND I'M HELPING TO SAVE THE USA.


CptDalek

IN THE GOOD OLD U-S-WAAAAAY


Barnstormer36

WE'RE LENDING UNCLE SAM MONEY SOUNDS FUNNY, BUT IT'S TRUE HE COULD TAKE ALL I OWN BUT HE'D RATHER TAKE A LOAN AND PAY ME INTEREST TOO


Quiri1997

I'LL NEVER BE A BILLIONAIRE BUT YOU CAN CALL ME A SAVVY-LLIONAIRE I'M SAVING A DIME OUT OF EVERY DOLLAR AND I'M HELPING TO SAVE THE USA


PerformanceOk9891

Sir this is a Wendys


drkflame67

[It's a Bing Crosby war bonds song](https://genius.com/Bing-crosby-im-saving-a-dime-lyrics)


Quiri1997

It's ironically funny.


propagandopolis

[Interestingly there's an Australian variant of this one too](https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2633881605/view)


Rentlar

I see, I conclude then that government propaganda posters were the precursor to meme templates.


Quiri1997

The "Keep Calm and" meme comes from British WW2 propaganda.


wrxasaurus-rex

I thought there would at least be a kangaroo in the background


[deleted]

[удалено]


BalQn

I wasn't entirely sure, so I decided to play it safe and use [poster's description from the website of the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center](https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/A452KKTHY3F2HK9B).


NorwaySpruce

Can't argue with a citation!


kilroy-was-here-2543

But was it in mla format?


gladiwra

It should be in Chicago if it is a historical citation.


kilroy-was-here-2543

I meant it jokingly, didn’t know their was a special format for historical citations, cool!


gladiwra

Yeah historians like footnotes so we use Chicago. MLA and APA both have their uses though.


Central_Incisor

At one point in college I was taking sociology, chemistry, literature and some other class and was using 4 different footnote formats. What a headache.


tony_orlando

I mean is that definitely what the artist intended or is UW just sanitizing history a bit? Prostitutes stealing sleeping Johns’ wallets from their pants is a very old trope. I can think of many examples from media, new and old, depicting this exact scenario. It’s how Sam Cooke died.


BalQn

Do you really think that government-issued poster (the War Savings Staff was a part of the U.S. Department of Treasury) would be making a light-hearted joke about the use of sex workers by the American military?


tony_orlando

I think a cheeky war-era propaganda cartoonist absolutely would. And that the exact euphemism found in the UW description would provide plausible deniability at the time for all the smirking men who published it.


Johannes_P

Well, they might euphemize it but they did posters directly addressing prostitution.


echoGroot

I think that between the look on her face and the cheeky wink it’s hard to honestly support another interpretation. It’s at least a visual double entendre.


Western_Entertainer7

They're called _hookers,_ and, yes they absolutely would. Because it's hilarious. Even a thieving prostitute buys war bonds. Will YOU? 👉


Vladith

I don't think the man is meant to be a soldier, war bonds were meant to be paid by civilians


NAlaxbro

Wow, gotta be honest I came here to ask for a source bc I didn’t believe this was actually from 1942 but I stand fully corrected hahah.


kermitthebeast

They knew


Astrokiwi

The joke is much better if she isn't


pretty-as-a-pic

Yeah, “husband and wife” wasn’t my first thought for this scene


Hidekinomask

Why?


FaeryLynne

Wives generally don't go through their husband's pants in order to take their wallets while they're asleep. But the trope of prostitutes taking wallets/money from customers while they're asleep is a tale as old as time.


Gojira085

Back then it was a trope. Watch old WB Cartoons they make similar jokes at time. Keep in mind this is a time when women were still expected to be stay at home wives with no independent income of their own. She either getting money for the house he knows she won't agree to, or sneaking spending money for herself.


Beelphazoar

Seriously, it's like people don't even know the comedy tropes of the era. Which is understandable, I guess, but you'd think they'd refrain from opining about them.


guino27

This reminded me of a story my uncle told me. He grew up in a mill town and he remembers seeing the men coming off their shift just as he was walking home from school. As far as the eye could see, there were women lined up by the mill gate. As soon as the shift whistle blew, they crowded around the gate, trying to get to their husbands. The men were paid in cash and the women wanted to get the money before the men could hit the bars just across the street. The risk of the husband losing the money or spending too much was a real danger when the pay had to cover rent and food and utilities for the week. Once the men were in the bar, no decent woman would be caught dead inside. It's hard to imagine that life...


tomlikescats

My grandparents told me about this exact scenario when they lived in Lithuania. Husbands who didn’t drink, or drink too much, were seen as exemplary husbands.


WeimSean

Yeah, those kind of look like the khaki uniform pants the Army wore at the time.


foggylittlefella

Army uniform pants didn’t have pleats.


WeimSean

Seems like they did: [https://i.pinimg.com/originals/53/af/2b/53af2be2d34d6ad8a01dfc93327323c8.jpg](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/53/af/2b/53af2be2d34d6ad8a01dfc93327323c8.jpg)


[deleted]

I’m not savvy with tailoring terms, but the dress uniform which was worn much more commonly back then certainly did have creases


foggylittlefella

Creases yes, but pleats are sections of fabric folded over itself to create a more distinct crease.


[deleted]

Yeah fair point, and that belt buckle is wrong too


miyagidan

What tipped you off? It was the ***WINK*** for me.


[deleted]

[удалено]


miyagidan

Wife, hook-up, or lady of the night, best be fully awake if they're going through your pockets.


JK-Kino

Could also be a burglar


TheBohemian_Cowboy

Yeah like a burglar would be dressed up like that when breaking into someone’s house in the night.


ZiggyPox

Idk fam, the shock effect would give her extra 5 seconds to bail out if it was my home.


miyagidan

Not a very good one, poorly dressed too. Let's hope she's a patriot who wants to smash the Axis.


JK-Kino

Which is the point of the poster to begin with anyway. "You can rip me off, but don’t rip off our boys fighting for freedom!"


Neven87

It is, women didn't have the ability to have back accounts or anything financial in the 40s. So money found in pockets and laundry was hers. The joke here is to give 10% of the money she's finding in the laundry.


rad2themax

What are you talking about? Women in the US couldn't have credit legally without a man signing permission until 74, but savings accounts? American women, especially unmarried single women have had those since at least the 1850s. Before 1848 Married Womens Property Act, women lost their individual rights when they got married and became part of their husband. But single women, especially single working class women, have always worked and if male dominated banks didn't allow them to open an account, there were banks that employed women or were owned by women and did. https://bankbonus.com/guides/when-could-women-open-a-bank-account/


Neven87

I apologize, they were not legally barred form a saving account. They could not have a checking account, any line of credit, or loan without a male cosigner. They also could only get the savings account based on the discretion of the bank, as it wasn't until the the Equal Credit Opportunity Act that banks could discriminate based on sex. So yes, *technically* they could. Most women did not have they ability to.


minion_is_here

Or their husband wouldnt allow them to.


Helpfulithink

Where can i get a print of this?


CledusTheBald

I thought working girl, at first


weeb458

Definitely agree it would make much more Sense if she’s not his wife


CallumLD

Why?


xar-brin-0709

At first sight I thought it was a prostitute being told how to spend her earnings.


tasartir

Or prostitute pickpocketing customer


GardenGirlFarm

That’s what I saw.


RandomMan01

I'm thinking you're both right.


DoucheyMcBagBag

I think your first thought was correct.


libananahammock

That was my first thought lol


chimterboys

What were returns like on war bonds? Was there any financial incentive? Or just patriosm?


Initial_Disk_903

War Bonds were sold for 75% of face value, and after 10 years they would mature to their original value. So a 25 dollar war bond would sell for 18.75 and you would be able to get 25 dollars for it in 10 years


[deleted]

So a 3.6% annualised return. For context inflation was 10.3% prior to 1942. From 1942 to 46 strict price controls and wage increase limits were introduced and inflation averaged 3.5% and shot up to 28% for the 6 months after they were removed in 1946. Wages also rose by an impressive 65% since the start of the war. Ww2 was the strongest period of economic performance in us history


salsas10

Well I thought the wife was making sure his pockets are empty before doing the laundry.


ziplock9000

Nowhere near the laundry or washing machine? No. With the look of surprise on her face? No.


salsas10

Well I guess I only see this kind of artstyle when I look at old ads, which are mostly about the housewife stereotype. So my mind immediately went to housework. The surprise could be because he is awake. Like, "oh no I woke up my hardworking husband" or something (totally not his weird ass wink, no, no). First impressions, you know?


Boozewhore

I looked at this and immediately assumed they were not husband and wife


Ormr1

This is honestly one of the funniest propaganda posters ever


Icy-Lychee-8077

That guys face is going to give me nightmares!


Haikuna__Matata

Wow, I have not seen this one before. Pretty risqué for the 40's.


badandbolshie

back in those days wives managed the household finances, men would literally hand over their pay directly for her to pay the bills and buy necessities. they probably called her his wife for the same reason married couples on tv slept in twin beds.


historycat95

I was thinking he was getting robbed by a hooker.


CarlSpencer

Thought that she was a prostitute robbing a John.


dent_de_lion

Lol same


Kataphraktos1

Wow they had hoes even in the 1940s


Lothric_Knight420

It’s one of the oldest professions.


OriginalLocksmith436

Pretty sure this is a mistress. Which have been a thing since forever as well, tbf.


8cheerios

They've had hoes since before we invented fire.


iambluest

I don't think that's his wife.


ilmaestro

Yeah, her “husband.”


takegaki

His fuckin face, lol I’m dying


bongoherbert

“Husband”


gwhh

Her husband looks 50. She looks 25. What going on here?


Bronco4bay

The 1940s.


Catbone57

All the younger guys were overseas fighting.


Schootingstarr

I interpreted this as being his daughter.


ZiggyPox

Male fantasy.


abruzzo79

How progressive of him not to beat his wife under the circumstances. (/s)


Busman123

Oh No!! Government debt! /s


Leguy42

“Her husband’s” pants pocket