A former colleague of mine, a man in his seventies, told us a story from
when he served in the Soviet army as a young man. He served with a guy who used to wipe his
individual plate and utensils with the newspaper they got. Others warned him about the
lead but he dismissed the warnings. After a while, he ended up with lead
poisoning.
I don't think I heard how long it took for him to get it or how severe it
was.
Quite possible! I understand that they thought the lead in the newspaper ink was the culprit because nobody else in their unit did the same and nobody else got lead poisoning, but obviously, it could have been coincidental. I've tried researching just how much lead one could consume this way but never found anything conclusive.
I don't think I heard how long it took for him to get it or how severe it was.