3 ms·
also lead flavoring lead tastes sweet, sugar wasn't cheaply & widely available, honey is expensive etc. and knowledge about lead poisoning was not really a th
by dathinab 1y ago
also lead flavoring
lead tastes sweet, sugar wasn't cheaply & widely available, honey is expensive etc.
and knowledge about lead poisoning was not really a think AFIK
at the same time lead pipes tend to gain a crust of chalk over time (depending on chalk content of the water) which mostly defuses their danger. Like you will find some very old houses with lead tape water pipes in the EU today but if you test their tape water you won't find (much of) an issue due to 1) the chalk 2) the water not staying long in the pipe if it's e.g. a 4 apartment house.
- fernmyth 1y agoHere's Vitruvius in "De Architectura" claiming it's common, easily verified knowledge: https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Vitruvius/8*.html#6.10 https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Vitruvius... Of course, him mentioning "Don't do this" suggests that lead water pipes into the home were common enough to need a warning against.
- dathinab 1y agointeresting > "Don't do this" suggests that lead water pipes into the home were common enough to need a warning against. sadly, they still are today sometimes, in areas with a lot of 125+year old infrastructure :/