davmeva t1_iug7xbg wrote on October 31, 2022 at 2:05 AM

Reply to ELI5: How exactly do we get some much power from engine now, than we did 40, 50, 60 years ago? by Micromashington

You might want to go a bit further back. They were using turbos and getting massive power from airplane engines in WWII

davmeva t1_iu72u2g wrote on October 29, 2022 at 1:24 AM

Reply to comment by DavetheHick in Eli5 why was lead added to so many products before it was discovered to be toxic? by thhbeard

As other comments have stated the issue is with the question not my answer. It's not possible to answer in the way it was asked. There wasn't really a before. Lead comes from the decay of uranium. Hippocrates know about its dangers somewhere around 300 BC, Nikander described results of lead poisoning in 250 BC. Maybe I'm wrong but I don't think OP was asking why they made lead necklaces in Anatolia around 6000 years ago. Although it was probably the last time people did use lead without knowing it was toxic.

davmeva t1_iu3v564 wrote on October 28, 2022 at 11:01 AM

Reply to Eli5 why was lead added to so many products before it was discovered to be toxic? by thhbeard

This video has a nice explanation. Essentially it was money. They knew it was toxic. A large number of scientists petitioned against it being used. But certain companies knew they could make money so they did it anyway