This horizontal pen-and-ink cartoon is divided into a large main scene on the left and a smaller four-panel comic strip titled "I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT" on the right. The main scene depicts an elaborate, convoluted mechanical system—a signature "Rube Goldberg machine"—designed to help a theater box office patrons deal with a difficult customer. On the left, a man in a coat and checkered pants stands at a ticket window, speaking to a clerk inside. A series of pulleys, strings, and levers extend below the floor to control a trap door leading to a chute which runs under the floor, labeled "TO NOWHERE IN PARTICULAR." Various characters, including a woman in a floral dress and a man in a dark suit, stand in line behind the first man. The bearded man second in line is grabbing the levers which control the apparatus. Hand-lettered captions are scattered throughout the scene, including text that reads: "MY WIFE IS A LITTLE HARD OF HEARING IN THE LEFT EAR," "I GUESS HE WENT TO SCHOOL WITH THE MAN IN THE BOX OFFICE," and "AT LEAST HE HAS TO LEAVE THAT WINDOW FOR HIS MEALS." The four panels on the right show a man sitting in a chair, a person approaching him to ask, "WHY DON'T YOU ASK HER?", and the man subsequently walking away with flowers and a present. The entire work is rendered in a detailed, cross-hatched sketching style on a yellowed paper background.