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Why do you think lead paint tastes sweet?
by nate_meurer 5y ago
Why do you think lead paint tastes sweet?
- theandrewbailey 5y agoThe Romans used lead acetate as a sweetener[0], but the exact compounds used in lead paint are different. It doesn't seem that those are sweet.[1] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead(II)_acetate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead(II)_acetate [1] https://healthyindoors.com/2018/11/lead-paint-sweet-aint/ https://healthyindoors.com/2018/11/lead-paint-sweet-aint/
- nate_meurer 5y agoThere are indications that lead acetate (which is only mildly sweet) was occasionally used as a drier in oil-based paints a long time ago. But I've seen no good evidence regarding how common this may have been. But even if that's true, lead acetate would have been used only in tiny quantities (like any other metallic drier). And lead acetate degrades rapidly, so there wouldn't be any lead acetate left in the paint after a short time anyway.