103. Today in 1920s Turkey: 11 August 1928 (Summer Dancing Can Lead to Death)

(Cover page, Resimli Gazete or “Illustrated Gazette,” 11 August 1928, no. 258, page 1.)

Türkçe:
(Üstte)
Sıcaklarda dans etmeyiniz… belki siz de hararetten fenalaşarak bayılırsınız.
(Altta)
Sıcak havada dans etmek sıhhata muzırdır. Onun için dans daima kış modasıdır. Böyle olmasına rağmen bazı heveskarlar vakitli vakitsiz dans etmekten çekinmiyorlar ve herkesin terlediği bu zamanlarda tepinmekten bir zevk duyuyorlar. Geçenlerde Bükreş dans[?]larından birinde dans eden çiftlerden birisi evvela bayılmış ve vaktinde yetişilemediği için diyar-ı ademi boylamıştır. Cesedi muayene eden doktorlar genç kadının sıcaktan bayıldığını ve tepinmenin de mevti intaç ettiğini bildirmiştirlerdir.

English:
(Above)
Do not dance in the heat… you, too, may feel faint and pass out.
(Below)
Dancing in hot weather is harmful for one’s health. That is why dancing is always a winter trend. Despite this fact some enthusiasts are not hesitating to dance regardless of time and they take pleasure in kicking and stamping around during this time when everybody is sweating. The other day in one of Bucharest’s dance [?] one of the dancing couples first fainted and then died because help did not arrive in time. The doctors who performed the autopsy say that the young woman died from overheating and that kicking and stomping around leads to death.

Comments
Much like today’s magazines, journals of the 1920s often included on their front cover a captivating image which in some way related to current events or concerns. This serves to attract the attention of the readers/buyers while informing them of the present digest’s content. In the case of Resimli Gazete’s 11 August 1928 issue, we are confronted with a woman in a bright red dress falling out of the arms of a handsome young man. The couple is surrounded by other couples, all of whom are dancing—the music alluded to with the inclusion of the orchestra in the upper right corner. Pairs on either side of the couple have momentarily stopped mid-dance to watch in shock as the woman in red bites the dust. Upon witnessing the whole scene at its climax the reader becomes compelled to seek out information about the scene: who is this woman, what has overcome her, and is she alright? In this regard the image functions as a proto-“clickbait”

The text above and below the image provide information about the eye-catching illustration. As expected, it reflects two very current concerns for August 1928—a time of great heat and exhausting dances. Indeed, according to the magazine this is a dangerous combination of forces with deadly consequences. The text warns readers thinking of dancing in such heat to control their dance urges. The magazine is not against dancing, it is simply against hazardous and/or reckless dancing under unfavorable environmental conditions such as excessive heat. And as with most news, it only takes one unfortunate young lady in Romania to suffer a heat stroke while dancing for caution to set in two countries over...