The Romans sweetened wine with a syrup boiled in lead pots, which contained lead acetate.
Why it is true
Grape juice was boiled slowly until it thickened into a syrup called 'sapa' or 'defrutum'. The lead in the pots formed lead acetate, which tastes sweet and was later known as 'sugar of lead'. Today we know it is toxic.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica
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