Another Ho Hum: More Newsbreaks from The New Yorker

Following the success of Ho Hum: Newsbreaks from "The New Yorker" in 1931, Farrar & Reinhart Inc published a sequel the following year. In 1931, The New Yorker had "steadily enlarged its study of human error. By a curious coincidence, the country has steadily become more erroneous, and economists generally agree that 1931, taken as a whole, was a mistake" (EB White, Foreword, 1). According to White, a "certain abandon, characteristic of panicky or 'halcyon' days, runs through the 1931 newsbreaks". 

Here is a selection of the best "news breaks" from the collection. We have included a citation to the source that originally published the news break. If you want to find the original item yourself, you might try The Newspaper Article Archive or GenealogyBank.

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Headline: HOROWITZ SOUNDS BEETLE WARNING

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Several guests were wounded and gassed. George E Atkins was shot in the face and back and probably wounded.

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She is a brown-eyed brunette, 23 years old, and an accomplished danger

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A sports headline, reporting a soccer match between two schools, Angel Guardian High of Jamaica Plains and Immaculate Conception High of Revere: CONCEPTION STOPPED BY ANGEL GUARDIAN

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Miss Ruth Senseman went to Cleveland Saturday, where she will take up nursing at the Home Pathetic Hospital

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Headline: MEXICAN PILOT STICKS TO AIR AFTER TWO JUMPS IN 24 HOURS

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Work wanted: Sec.-Steno—Knowl. bkkpg; 4 yrs. exp; some leg.; sell exp; excel. refs.

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Preview: The plot ought to be interesting — the story of a young girl, Dawn, who is everything her name implies

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When Miss Virginia Brenholtz, 17, awakened to find a burglar at her bedside early Sunday, she gave him a shave and screamed for help

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Bible thought for the day: O Lord, enable us to trust in the Ford, forever trust and banish all our fears

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Weather report: A southeast girl with a wind velocity of fifty miles an hour was reported to be sweeping Bay St Louis today

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Firemen had a stiff bottle before the fire was finally under control

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Vernon Steele first went on the stage as a lark and has been enjoying it ever since

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She stayed long enough to sign a contract to play the lewd in The Big Fight

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Mrs Robinson gave a party last Thursday to a group of tight ladies who played bridge and had a most enjoyable time

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In his compositions, Mr Gould does not consciously exploit tonality, atonality, polytonality, or other "isms"