Why Don’t You Eat Some Wall Candy While You’re At It?
I learned today that NASCAR is one of the few places that still use leaded gasoline. Reason why is that the lead in the gasoline acts as a lubricant for all of the valves in the engine of the car. Problem is, the certain kind of lead they use is one of the more dangerous kinds, and only requires a low level of it before it starts to lower your IQ. (Ingesting lead makes you stupider.)
This is the main reason why the United States has made it illegal to use leaded gas except in special circumstances, such as aviation and racing. Of course, the cynical side of me would say that this explains the popularity of NASCAR Racing. Get enough lead in your system, and even cars driving in a circle really really fast can be entertaining. It also explains a lot about the kinds of people that are into NASCAR.
Strangely enough, they’re the only ones that use leaded gasoline still. F1 Racing uses ethanol, and pretty much everywhere else in the world has outlawed it for use in automobiles. Hell, it’s even illegal in Kazakhstan. But don’t worry, they’ll be switching over in three to five years… or so.