I remember the magazine ads for the gas ones. They often pictured asparagus being boiled in a Pyrex percolator with the tender tips out of the water taking a steam bath.
I haven't thought about cooking Asparagus like that in years. I remember back in the 60s reading a article about doing that. So, I tried it in our Corning ware stove top percolator and it worked beautifully.
It beats having to buy and store an asparagus steamer in real life and the colors of the green asparagus and the blue flame, both visible through the glass and the boiling water, added drama to the ad.