It is a busy Tuesday morning in your pediatric clinic. As the five-year-old marched out, swinging a caped action figure, you found yourself analyzing the hero’s fashion choices. Honestly, the cape was a death trap.

You remember your own school days, where a slightly baggy collar was basically an invitation to be choked or hoisted onto a coat hook by a bully. If a T-shirt was a disadvantage, a cape was a suicide note. Forget hand-to-hand combat—you couldn’t even walk through a diner without snagging a chair leg and dragging a table of soup onto the floor.

That’s exactly why you chose a different kind of mantle. You smoothed the front of your lab coat. It had pockets, it commanded respect, and it didn’t get caught in door jambs. Saving lives in a white cloak was infinitely cooler—and significantly safer—than the alternative.