I Didn’t Know About the Gasoline Lie—And Now I Can’t Unknow It
I came across this video one night—just one of those auto-played recommendations on YouTube that shows up when you’re half-distracted and not planning to learn anything serious. I almost clicked away. But I didn’t. The video was about leaded gasoline—and how, for decades, it was knowingly sold around the world even though the people behind it knew how dangerous it was.
Apparently, they knew.
They knew it was toxic. They knew it could damage the brain—especially in children. They knew it polluted the air and lingered in the soil. But they sold it anyway.
The inventor, the manufacturers, the oil companies—they had the research. They had the data. But instead of stopping, they doubled down. They ran PR campaigns to silence concerns. They put scientists on their payroll to spin the truth. All of this, just so they could keep making money off a product that was literally poisoning people. And for decades, the whole world just… breathed it in.
I don’t know why this one hit me so hard, but it did. Maybe because I’d like to believe that we live in a world where bad things happen by mistake, not by design. Maybe because I’m part of the business world too—and it made me wonder: how many things do we overlook, delay, or justify in the name of business?
Business, But at What Cost?
It’s one thing to make a mistake.
It’s another thing to know and keep going.
That’s the part that kept echoing in my head.
I think about how many people lived their whole lives not knowing that the air they breathed, the fuel they used every day, was quietly harming them. Not in a dramatic, obvious way—but slowly, subtly, irreversibly. And it was allowed. Worse—it was orchestrated.
And I think about the people who were behind it. Did they sleep well at night? Did they tell themselves it wasn’t so bad? That the profits justified the cost? Or did they know, deep down, that what they were doing would leave a scar on generations to come?
It left me unsettled. Not just because of the past, but because of the pattern. It’s not just one story. It’s one of many. Cigarettes. Asbestos. Fast fashion. Ultra-processed foods. Every time we learn something new, it feels like we’re always ten steps too late. And every time, it turns out someone already knew.
What really got to me, though, wasn’t just the history—it was how normal everything looked while it was happening. The ads were cheerful. The cars kept driving. The fuel kept pumping. People lived and worked and raised families, all while invisible harm was seeping into the background of their lives.
And now I look at the world a little differently.
It made me reflect on the kind of business I want to be part of. I’m not some big-shot corporate executive with global influence—but even in my own small way, I make decisions. I choose what to prioritise. I choose who to work with. I choose what kind of values I’m willing to stand behind, even when it’s not convenient.
It reminded me that business isn’t neutral. Every product, every service, every strategy carries a weight. It either contributes to harm, or helps reduce it. There’s no perfect path, but there’s always a direction we’re leaning toward.
That video left me feeling two things at once—anger and responsibility. Anger at how long the lie was allowed to last. And responsibility, because now that I know… I don’t want to be someone who just shrugs and carries on.