4 ms·

Whether it caused the downfall of the Roman Empire or not, is lead poisoining (used for water pipes and cooking vessels) the oldest example of technical debt?

• tgv 5y ago
  Is it technical debt if you don’t know, much less understand the problem?
  • mkl95 5y ago
    Good question. Romans studied lead poisoning to some extent. Their word for lead poisoning was saturnism [1]. Which makes me think they either didn't know any better, or they found out so late that they could not afford to replace their lead with a safer material. [1] https://archive.epa.gov/epa/aboutepa/lead-poisoning-historical-perspective.html https://archive.epa.gov/epa/aboutepa/lead-poisoning-historic...
    • yesenadam 5y ago
      > Romans studied lead poisoning to some extent. Their word for lead poisoning was saturnism[1] The linked article, surprisingly, doesn't seem to give any support at all for either of those statements.
      • mkl95 5y ago
        Here's another one that focuses a bit more on Rome: https://culturacolectiva.com/history/plumbism-disease-that-might-have-sparked-deliriums-in-roman-emperors https://culturacolectiva.com/history/plumbism-disease-that-m... > Known as plumbism (or saturnism in Latin as a reference both to lead and plumb, but also to the god Saturn known to be mentally unbalanced and aggressive), this was a very well-known disease by ancient alchemists though it wasn’t really attributed to Roman emperors.
• BitwiseFool 5y ago
  The Romans also used Lead as a sweetener, and that arguably contributed more towards the lead intake than the pipes and cooking vessels. Those last two things certainly contributed, but the direct use of Lead as a food additive was way worse and often overlooked. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead(II)_acetate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead(II)_acetate
  • s1artibartfast 5y ago
    My understanding is that this is a much bigger issue, because the leaded pipes would calcify naturally, forming a barrier coating between the lead and water
  • tdeck 5y ago
    The article you linked says this: > The ancient Romans, who had few sweeteners besides honey, would boil must (grape juice) in lead pots to produce a reduced sugar syrup called defrutum, concentrated again into sapa But the article about defrutum adds more context: > However, the use of leaden cookware, though popular, was not the general standard of use. Copper cookware was used far more generally and no indication exists as to how often sapa was added or in what quantity. There is not, however, scholarly agreement on the circumstances and quantity of lead in these ancient Roman condiments.
    • BitwiseFool 5y ago
      True, and I included 'arguably'. There isn't a consensus on this and I admit my perspective only casual.