An important business firm was carrying out official A.R-P. instructions on what to do in an air-raid, Members of the staff read the paragraphs concerning incendiary bombs until word-perfect, and then it was decided to hold a test.
Buckets in which to place the bombs, and shovels with which to pick them up, were ordered. After lengthy correspondence the firm succeeded in obtaining a real incendiary bomb.
When the bomb was placed, lighted, on the shovel, it burnt a hole through it. The shovel was sent back to the makers, with a statement of what had happened.
Experiments were made, and a fresh bomb-shovel was specially manufactured. Another incendiary bomb was obtained. It burned clean through the second shovel.
The firm wrote to the authorities, asking their advice. Masses of letters passed to and fro. Finally, there arrived this official pronouncement: "We can only conclude that you must be using the wrong kind of incendiary", mb."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.