A Terrifying List of the Most Toxic Paints Used in the Past

Tom Lum of SciShow shared a terrifying list of the most toxic paints that were used in the past, explaining what made them so toxic and what effects the ingredients of each these paints has on the human body.

People have been trying to make the prettiest colors we can for thousands of years. And sometimes, we've even used poison to do it. From lead white to arsenic Scheele's green and cobalt violet, here are just a few of the most toxic colors in the rainbow. We recommend that you look, but c touch.

While they're all pretty scary, the most horrific one was National School Bus Glossy Yellow", which was introduced in the 1930s and was extremely neurotoxic due to its ingredient of lead chromate. The color remains the same today, but the NTSB has since changed to a safer variety of automotive paint.

... National School Bus Glossy Yellow." This paint was first picked out for school buses in the 1930s because it's distinctive and eye-catching, ...But it turns out that they should probably have been more worried about the safety of the bus painters, sinceschool bus yellow is suuuuper toxic. ...Which is why these days, school buses tend to be painted with specialized automotive paints that are acrylic-based and chromium-free.