O/T - How the U.S. govt poisoned alcohol during Prohibition

[EdisonSquirrel]

An article was published last week detailing how the U.S. government openly poisoned alcohol during Prohibition, resulting in thousands of deaths.

http://www.slate.com/id/2245188

This was the ugly face of reality that is not apparent when listening to the upbeat hot dance music of the '20s.



Rocky

[OrthoFan]

Hi Rocky:

I think it's important to note that while few people may have known about this today, this was generally common knowledge in the 1920s--based on a few google news searches I've done. In other words, it does not seem to be something the government tried to keep secret from the general population. (In fact, I remember my Dad telling me about this some 40 years ago!)

I'd imagine that the ones who drank the industrial alcohol were most likely victims of unscrupulous bootleggers.

OF

[gramophoneshane]

lol, nice!

[JohnM]

Ahhh . . . the 'Good Old Days'.

[Edisone]

The Edison factory just tinted the alcohol used for Diamond Discs green (I think it was green).... workers with green lips were dismissed. haha !

[JohnM]

Thrifty Edison probably used the remaining green japanning used to color Model H reproducers! LOL!

[estott]

This was a mistake (as was Prohibition in general) but it isn't as if the Government instituted a secret killing project. This was in the open and the denatured product was labeled as toxic (It still is). The real criminals were those who sold it as drinkable.