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The man who accidentally killed the most people in history.

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member

The thread title is the title of the video. A little spoiler, It is mainly about Thomas Midgley Jr. The main inventor of leaded gasoline. Happy Earth Day.
 

Debater Slayer

Vipassana
Staff member
Premium Member
In my opinion, unless he was well aware of the effects leaded gasoline would have on people's health and the environment, it's unfair to blame him for inventing it. Even nuclear weapons were partially invented due to Einstein's equation that he never intended to use that way.

If people want to blame the inventor of leaded gasoline for environmental and health damage, they should probably start by dropping their excessive reliance on fossil fuels and use other means of transportation than gas-guzzling, inefficient SUVs and trucks when they don't need to use those.
 

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member
In my opinion, unless he was well aware of the effects leaded gasoline would have on people's health and the environment, it's unfair to blame him for inventing it. Even nuclear weapons were partially invented due to Einstein's equation that he never intended to use that way.

If people want to blame the inventor of leaded gasoline for environmental and health damage, they should probably start by dropping their excessive reliance on fossil fuels and use other means of transportation than gas-guzzling, inefficient SUVs and trucks when they don't need to use those.
It does say that he accidentally killed the most people. It does not say that he did it on purpose. And yes, we do need to quit using fossil fuels, but that is not the topic of the video.

The man did not mean to, but his invention did kill quite a few people.
 

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member
At the 11 minute mark they say he knew the dangers of lead so not so much on the accidentally.
But he probably did not know how it would accumulate in the atmosphere and elsewhere, nor did he seem to know how little it took to have an effect. So I will still grant "accidental". Though he should have known from his own experience that it was not risk free.

What freaked me out was how lead levels correlated to crime rates.
 

Debater Slayer

Vipassana
Staff member
Premium Member
But he probably did not know how it would accumulate in the atmosphere and elsewhere, nor did he seem to know how little it took to have an effect. So I will still grant "accidental". Though he should have known from his own experience that it was not risk free.

I guess we can say he was... led astray.
 

John53

I go leaps and bounds
Premium Member
But he probably did not know how it would accumulate in the atmosphere and elsewhere, nor did he seem to know how little it took to have an effect. So I will still grant "accidental". Though he should have known from his own experience that it was not risk free.

He knew enough to hide out in Florida from it.

What freaked me out was how lead levels correlated to crime rates.

Yeah, very interesting. I'm wondering how much smarter I'd be if I wasn't born in 1961 lol. Leaded petrol, lead paint, lead toys and I used to clamp lead split shot onto fishing line with my teeth.... my father taught me that method.
 

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member
He knew enough to hide out in Florida from it.



Yeah, very interesting. I'm wondering how much smarter I'd be if I wasn't born in 1961 lol. Leaded petrol, lead paint, lead toys and I used to clamp lead split shot onto fishing line with my teeth.... my father taught me that method.
We used to play with mercury from broken thermometers. No harm from that either:rolleyes:
 

F1fan

Veteran Member
At the 11 minute mark they say he knew the dangers of lead so not so much on the accidentally.
Yeah, but the economy, and big business....you don't want to cost them any burden. So a few kids die along the way, they were probably troublemakers.
 

SomeRandom

Still learning to be wise
Staff member
Premium Member

The thread title is the title of the video. A little spoiler, It is mainly about Thomas Midgley Jr. The main inventor of leaded gasoline. Happy Earth Day.
At least he didn’t (for lack of a better term) invent the Nuclear Bomb :D
 

stvdv

Veteran Member: I Share (not Debate) my POV

The thread title is the title of the video. A little spoiler, It is mainly about Thomas Midgley Jr. The main inventor of leaded gasoline. Happy Earth Day.
Interesting idea: who is responsible for people being killed:
1) [for theists] God (the Creator of everything)
2) The inventors of the equipment used to kill
3) The people (mass) producing the equipment
4) The people selling the equipment to others
5) The people using it to accidentally kill
6) The parents creating the killer to be
7) The people using it to do the kill
8) The ones being killed
@stvdvRF
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member

The thread title is the title of the video. A little spoiler, It is mainly about Thomas Midgley Jr. The main inventor of leaded gasoline. Happy Earth Day.


He also came up with the idea of CFCs in refrigerators and thus screwed the ozone layer.
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member

Yes but as yet it is not as thick as it should be, and annually still developes a hole it Is estimated to be around 2060 before it has completely repaired itself


Is Earth's ozone layer still at risk? 5 questions answered

Note :
NASA stated that even though the 2021 Antarctic ozone hole was larger than average, it was “substantially smaller” than those recorded in the late 1990s and early 200s.
 
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