#12: Asbestos We Can Tell, Asbestos Is a Bad Idea
The problem with inventions that backfire is that they seem like a really good idea—up until the moment that they don’t. You can see why asbestos was such a popular building material for such a long time: it’s a great insulator and it’s fireproof. So of course it was used in loads of buildings.
It was only in the 1970s that we realized that it causes cancer and lung problems. And by then, it was everywhere, and a lot of people had already been exposed. It’s estimated that 100,000 people die each year because of asbestos exposure. Do you want to know what’s even crazier? Some countries haven’t outlawed it yet; Russia still produces it like nothing happened.
Pages: Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44