@mattsheffield@mastodon.social
2026-09-13 05:53 UTC
TIL: The first artificial sweetener was made from lead, and it made Romans crazy
https://www.scienceabc.com/eyeopeners/lead-the-ancient-and-deadly-artificial-sweetener
#history
Replies (1)
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@ApostateEnglishman@mastodon.world 2026-09-13 06:05
@mattsheffield@mastodon.social A friend of mine still believes that widespread lead poisoning led to the collapse of the Roman Empire. I have tried explaining that it can't be true, but he read that one book about it from 1983 and likes the simplicity of the idea. He admittedly does make a compelling argument though - especially after several beers. 😆