R. Austin Freeman was a doctor before he took up writing.
To save time, I may as well say that the symptoms pointed to chronic lead-poisoning. Most people nowadays know that this is a very common disease, and a few years ago, when leaden vessels were extensively used, it was even commoner than at present.
R. Austin Freeman - From a Surgeon's Diary (1905)
The history of lead poisoning seems to have faded into the background, but I'm reminded of it whenever we see pewter plates and drinking vessels in antiques centres.
Of course we now have more severe health concerns such as a 1.5C rise in global temperatures. Plus many other invented ailments of course.
2 comments:
Why was / is there no hoo-haa about the hazards of aluminium cooking pots?
I wonder if the use of fast iron cooking pots ensured that people got beneficial iron into their bodies.
Doonhamer - that's an interesting point, they may have absorbed some iron, but when an old cooking pot had a hole, the tinker would mend it with lead solder.
I haven't heard about aluminium hazards for some time, maybe cheap cookware for plebs is a forgotten problem.
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