You know how people used to think that tomatoes were poisonous?
It could be because of pewter plates. Historically, pewter was an alloy containing up to 15% lead. The lead wasn't much of an issue unless it came into contact with something acidic - such as tomatoes. The acid from the tomatoes made the lead leach out into the food, giving the eater lead poisoning.
By the way, modern pewter is actually a very safe material.
It is about 96% tin and the 4% copper and 2% antimony.
No one puts lead in it anymore, so it's safe to eat and
drink from, as long as you use a lead-free solder.
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