The Yellow Kid was a bald, snaggle-toothed boy who wore an over-sized yellow nightshirt and hung around in a slum alley. This alley was typical of certain areas of squalor that existed in turn of the 19th to 20th century New York City. Hogan's Alley was filled with equally odd characters, mostly other children. With a goofy grin, the Kid spoke in a ragged, peculiar slang. This slang was printed on his shirt, a device meant to mock advertising billboards.