Right? The general public could be told that it was a tiny amount that was harmless, but any doctor could have done the napkin math, so how did it gain traction in the first place? GM pulled off quite something there. I’ve seen a pretty convincing argument that the lead poisoning was responsible for the high 1970s crime rate.
They could have used ethanol, an organic substance that’s a major additive in alcoholic beverages.
That literally is the alcohol, actually. It’s not quite as good though, which is why small planes still use leaded.
Mandatory mention that Thomas Midgley Jr. also invented the CFCs that fucked the ozone layer, and was eventually strangled by his own mobility pulley system invention. Truly a legend of cursedness.