Long before people knew that asbestos could cause malignant peritoneal mesothelioma, they made the craziest stuff with it. Since it was fireproof, a Philadelphia tailor made something called an asbestos pocket for cigar smokers (double your cancer risk).
But You Can Save The Butt
A Philadelphia tailor has invented a fine scheme for smokers who don’t want to throw away their cigars when they enter a street car. It’s an asbestos pocket.
You simply stick the cigar – or cigaret or pipe – into the pocket and button the flap, and then take it out and light it again when you leave the car.
The idea is likely to be adopted by tailors everywhere, for nearly all street car companies have rules forbidding passengers to carry lighted or dying cigars into the cars.
Source: The Day Book. Newspaper. February 17, 1913.
