Barney Google was a cartoon strip that first appeared in Chicago Herald and Examiner in their sports sections.  Originally titled “Take Barney Google, F’rinstance,” the comic centered around a google-eyed, cigar-smoking shrimp known for his involvement in poker, horse racing, and prize fights.  The strip also featured his wife, Mrs. Lizzie Google.

It was on this day, June 17, 1919, that the Barney Google cartoon strip, by Billy De Beck, premiered.  In 1934, the strip introduced a new character, the moonshiner Snuffy Smith.  He became so popular that by the late 1930s, his name was added to the strip’s title, and Google was slowly cut out from the strip, only to be an occasionally visitor.

To this day, many of DeBeck’s phrases introduced in the comic strip are still popular and relevant.  Terms such as “heebie-jeebies” and catchphrases like “great balls o’ fire” and “time’s a-wastin” have become part of the English vocabulary.