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This week we’re looking at inventions gone horribly wrong.
Olivia tells the story of the “one-man climate disaster,” aka the wildly successful 20th-century inventor Thomas Midgley Jr., whose creations caused widespread lead-induced madness and the near destruction of the ozone layer. Thanks to a bit of showmanship and barely any regulations, his inventions ended up in everyday vehicles and homes for decades after his untimely death.
Then, Elise digs into “forever chemicals” in period underwear, the little-known class-action lawsuit against Thinx underwear, and how to advocate for safer products.
Other topics include ethical inventing, the lead-crime hypothesis, and what we’re listening to.
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Story #1: The Disastrous Inventions of Thomas Midgley Jr. (Olivia)
Sources:
Thomas Midgley Jr – The Most Dangerous Inventor in History, Brain Blaze, January 27 2020
Inventor hero was a one-man environmental disaster, New Scientist, June 7 2017
When does too much progress become a bad thing?, Financial Times Weekend, December 8 2021
Prometheans in the Lab: Chemistry and the Making of the Modern World by Sharon Bertsch McGrayne, 2001
Thomas Midgley Jr., Wikipedia
This 1920s Inventor Sped Up Climate Change With His Chemical Creations, History, August 2019
Story #2: Period Underwear, PFAS, and Forever Chemicals (Elise)
Sources:
My Menstrual Underwear Has Toxic Chemicals in It, Sierra Club, Jan 2020
New Independent Study Confirms PFAS in Thinx, Other Products, Sierra Club, June 2021
What You Need to Know About “Nontoxic” Menstrual Underwear, Sierra Club, March 2020
Perfluoroalkyl substances exposure and immunity, allergic response, infection, and asthma in children: review of epidemiologic studies, National Library Of Medicine, Oct 2021
FLUORINATED CHEMICALS AND BPI CERTIFICATION, Biodegradable Products Institute, Sept 2018
New lawsuit contends period products contain ‘forever chemicals’, EWG, April 2022
Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Thinx Period Proof Underwear, Top Class Action, Nov 2020
Thinx Website
Thinx underwear PFAS lawsuit survives bid to dismiss, Reuters, June 2021
Knix Wear Sued Over PFAS Chemicals in Menstrual Underwear, Bloomberg Law, April 2022
Thinx Hit With Class Action Lawsuit Alleging Underwear Contains Harmful Chemicals, Top Class Action, May 2022
Thinx Toxic Underwear a ‘Safety Hazard to the Female Body’ Claims Class Action Lawsuit, Top Class Action, June 2021
What Is the Difference Between Fluorine and Fluoride?, ThoughtCo, Jan 2019
The list of underwear brands that do and don’t contain PFAS can be found here
Here’s my go-to breakdown of what PFAS are!
The Dump
We’re listening to Something Was Wrong and Father Wants Us Dead and watching I Love That For You and Flatbush Misdemeanors.
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