Union Wadding made the Sparkll-Tex stuff, which was NON-FLAMMABLE DON’T WORRY. It had a combination of silver-green-red on cotton - FIRE-PROOFED cotton, so don’t worry! No reason to think it would go up in flames like that - poomph! - and take the tree with it.

   
 

If there's one thing that says "venerable cultural archetype of the genial country doctor," it's "plastic visiting kit."

I had one; it had a hypo with a red needle that disappeared when you pressed it into the flesh of your sister, as she screamed. Everything was made of cheap plastic; the glasses didn't stay on your nose. It came with pills, though: tiny red pills coated with sugar.

They went right away. And then you missed them. You couldn't write a prescription for yourself for more. What was the point of being a doctor, then?