This product has had a bit of a charmed life.
Initially, when leaded petrol was banned it became a lead substitute and at least one of the motoring mags denounced them as snake oil!
Arwyn
It's actually a lot older than that ... the Victorians used antimony pills to purge the bowels! It was known as
"the everlasting pill" because once it had done its job (or you had) it would be retrieved and used again. One pill would serve a whole family, it would be passed down as an heirloom. Of course, along with other old remedies like trepanning and leeches, medical professionals no longer endorse it!
Antimony is an unusual metal in that it
contracts when heated. Alloyed with lead it was used in
hot metal typesetting so that the molten metal slugs would stay the same size when cooled.
That exhausts my
QI gained knowledge of antimony.
