565

The answer is Syphilis

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[-] Bertuccio@lemmy.world 87 points 1 year ago

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say the mind altering substances Oscar Wilde accidentally consumed pale in comparison to the ones he knowingly consumed.

[-] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 22 points 1 year ago

Yeah most of these poisons people were being exposed to were in trace dosages. Enough to slowly kill you over time but not enough to notice. Unless you were an actual hatter, then the chemicals you would get from hats would not be in trace amounts

[-] ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 68 points 1 year ago

Yeah, the Victorian's came up with "Too beautiful to die", "Life from other pieces", and "Death ages a picture, but the model lives" - the entire periods fiction becomes about survival as a fun treat like being fabulously wealthy is to generations after Boomers.

[-] Apepollo11@lemmy.world 43 points 1 year ago

a fun treat like being financially solvent is to generations after Boomers.

FTFY

[-] megopie@lemmy.blahaj.zone 32 points 1 year ago

Yah, and all the mid 1900 writers had was developmental lead poisoning from gas fumes.

SMH, amateurs.

[-] driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 24 points 1 year ago

And what left for us? Microplastics? What a shame.

[-] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 20 points 1 year ago

Born too late for lead and mercury poisoning.

Born too early for death by nanobots.

Born just in time for testicles filled with plastic.

[-] SkaveRat@discuss.tchncs.de 6 points 1 year ago

So much plastic in the testicles that you cum silly strings

[-] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

A man can dream.

[-] luciferofastora@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 year ago
[-] Etterra@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago

And don't forget everybody's favorite seasoning, lead!

[-] Anticorp@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Sweet sweet lead.

[-] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 10 points 1 year ago

To be fair, wearing the hats were fine. You were only in danger if you made hats.

[-] dogsoahC@lemm.ee 9 points 1 year ago
[-] Bobbysaurus@lemmy.world 35 points 1 year ago

Mercury was used to stiffen hats for a long time. That is also the background for the “mat hatters”.

[-] dogsoahC@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

Bow do you stiffen something with mercury?

[-] Kanda@reddthat.com 2 points 1 year ago

Mats with hats?

[-] MonkderDritte@feddit.de 33 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Mad as a hatter, mercury poisoning.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

I know Poe wrote on a writing desk. Which is why a raven is like one.

[-] Jollyllama@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Especially if it a bloody cursed hat made of witch skin.

[-] Anticorp@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

I kinda wish we could still get opium and laudenum at the corner drug store. That must have been nice.

this post was submitted on 16 Jul 2024
565 points (99.5% liked)

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