Lead was used as a flavoring agent for a very long time amongst the upper class in history. Often added to water or wine to make it more sweet. Obviously it's fallen out of favor now that we know what lead does, but it was a big deal in Rome.

So yeah, humans historically prefer lead water for some reason.

[–] 666dollarfootlong@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The chemical code for lead is Pb, derived from plumbum, meaning plumbing. Lead was used as piping for a long-ass time, until most of people went literally insane and started dying from the lead exposure. Thats probably how the Romans fell.

[–] MopedGirl@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 year ago

Interestingly, lead pipes aren’t actually bad if you have super hard water. The lead ends up lined with buildup. Of course, any time you have to make a repair, you end up destroying the lining and going back to leaching lead.