TEL/Ethyl Proliferation?

Delta Force

Banned
According to this, Germany and Italy acquired TEL technology in the 1930s with the assistance of Standard Oil, against the strong objections of the United States government. Could other countries have acquired TEL technology as well, such as Imperial Japan or the Soviet Union? Did France or the United Kingdom ever acquire TEL technology?
 
French and Italians were big on using Alcohol for Octane boosting for non aviation engines. 20% Alcohol added to base gasoline added 20-24 equivalent Octane points for anti-knock, but had downsides on longevity of fuel systems- pumps and carburetors needed more maintenance. Winters were mild enough not to get in the cold weather problems.
 
I've seen it said that much of the crime waves rising through the 50s, 60s and 70s in the USA could in retrospect be attributed to lead poisoning from the exhaust of leaded gasoline using vehicles, so if it turns out that OTL many of the countries you ask about did not adopt TEL treated gasoline, goody on them say I! Once we phased out lead--because it "poisoned" catalytic converters aimed at lowering other forms of pollution from car engines and not because we wanted to stop poisoning ourselves--the anomalous rise in violent crime that had been blamed on so many factors--mere overpopulation, alienation, lax discipline in childrearing, Communist plots to spread drug use and other counterculture, etc, and led to wave of "tough on crime" politics that has put the USA near the top in per capita imprisonment--started to decline again. The law'n'order types no doubt preened while building more prisons and getting judicial review streamlined away, but it was because we stopped putting poison in every gas tank that people calmed down.

I'd expect quite a few of those on your list scorned American patent laws and used the damned lead if it seemed good to them. I certainly have a hard time imagining the Soviets refraining just because a bunch of Yankee capitalists claimed the right to control the technology! Or the PRC.

So, I suspect the scope for a POD of more use of lead overseas is limited; those who wanted to either paid royalties to the US corporations and did it, or scoffed and did it. Or as marathag points out, used alternative tech such as alcohol to accomplish the same ends.

As I understand it, we Americans did enjoy an advantage in having superior high octane fuel during WWII, which meant we could design piston engines (radials being our national forte) for higher power. But my sources on this also said that the high octane gas was naturally so, specifically what was pumped from Southern Californian fields. This is where we got our 105+ octane av gas from.

I believe this was of course leaded to the max as well. I suppose deterioration in ability to control violent impulses was not something that cried out for study in USN task forces in the Pacific or during island-hopping invasion campaigns against the Japanese!
 
I can easily see lead poisoning causing an average drop of (?) 5 IQ points, but I have a harder time seeing that as a major cause of crime.
 
And yet all mass school shootings where the shooter carried more than one weapon occurred after leaded gas use ceased. Correlation?
 
And yet all mass school shootings where the shooter carried more than one weapon occurred after leaded gas use ceased. Correlation?

The old crime wave was generic shootings, knifings, general mayhem we are claiming was partially connected to somewhat lowered inhibitions. The lead makes one dumber generically and more specifically irritable, so people get into the habit of taking violent shortcuts, then one day they commit the violent crime that they get caught for. This kind of thing was with us before TEL and remains after, but there was more of it thanks to the lead.

Meanwhile the rise in apocalyptic gun massacres, where the shooter clearly premeditated and planned the thing as we can see by all the guns and ammo they have handy, is a different sort of crime, one I think is tied to a certain nihilistic political world view. Again not everyone who shares that world view runs out to acquire the arsenal they need for this go-out-in-a-blaze-of-righteous-glory spree; perhaps one has to be cracked mentally in a certain way up front. But it is the ideology that helps open the door.
 
There is a surprisingly strong correlation between lead in the environment and crime rates with a 23 year lag. http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/02/lead-exposure-gasoline-crime-increase-children-health
Of course, correlation does not imply causation. As we repeat probably too much in a college social science class!

But why not a 17 year lag? Wouldn't some age in adolescent have the highest per capita of people in that age committing crimes?

Okay, with lead, we have more brain damage, people are more irritable, get in the habit of taking violent shortcuts . . . . if I understand the argument correctly. And I appreciate the fact that we're not just looking at IQ points, but more of an emotional intelligence and emotional regulation type of thing. But I still think this would get swamped by sheer demographics. Such a large percentage of street crime is committed by young men ages 16-25. So pick a pretty heavy mid year in the baby boom generation and add 20 years. That way you're picking up people both a little bit older and a little bit younger, and these are also pretty heavy baby boom generation years.
 
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And I want to quickly add, young women are people, too! It might seem a strange thing to say that we might need to build a case that young women are just as criminal, or criminal enough, to be viewed as fully human. And for God's sake, do political activism or enjoy violent kick-ass movies, or aggressive team sports, rather than real crimes which hurt real people.

Okay, young women probably use illegal drugs roughly comparable to young men, from early adolescence probably all the way through their '20s. And girls can be just as mean, just as exclusionary, just as hierarchical and social climbing as boys. So, of even their physical meanness may not be viewed as crimes by the criminal justice system.

And before long, we come to the not very remarkable conclusion to judge people as individuals.
 
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