[aeternum]

Whenever a large group of people really want something to be true, your Bayesian evidence threshold should increase significantly.

IE cigarettes not causing cancer, glass of red wine a day, unleaded gasoline, caffeine has no negative effects, drugs are not addictive, you can eat as much as you want as long as no carbs.

[AnimalMuppet]

What about unleaded gasoline puts it on this list? What about it do people really want to be true?

[aeternum]

Sorry, meant leaded. The dangers were known very early-on but it was such a great way to increase octane rating that many including regulatory agencies allowed themselves to be led into wishful thinking.

It's interesting we're still using leaded when it comes to aviation. The FAA has been quite slow in approving alternatives.

[fuzzfactor]

The idea that it became harmless once the lead was removed?