Americans might have been a whole lot more intelligent had it not been for lead-based gasoline. Lead was first added to gasoline in 1923, apparently to keep our car engines 'healthy.' But the move came at the expense of our own well-being.
Leaded gas was banned in 1996. But a 2022 study revealed that exposure to car exhaust from leaded gas during childhood stole a collective 824 million IQ points from more than 170 million Americans alive today. To put it into perspective, that's about half the population of the United States. But we should also remember that the U.S. was not the only country to use lead in gas. And some countries still did so right up until 2021.
If this is the first time you're hearing about this, it might be because the lead-gasoline era was one of the most downplayed, damaging events in history. It left a lasting impact on society, the effects of which are still being felt today.
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