Whilst in Rome

Irony is lead.
Lead kills humans. Drives them crazy and poisons them. Humans can absorb it through contact, ingest it, breathe its fumes.
Over time it kills them.
Rome was a mighty Empire.
They controlled the western world.
Their citizens were the object of barbarian Jealousy the world over.
The Government of Rome, was for the people and by the people.
Sort of.
They did try to make life easier for the mob.
Free bread and cheap tickets to the spectacles.
Chariot races, the games, the gladiators.
Keep the mob entertained and they love you.
Their public works department did all it could to keep the empire running smoothly.
Running water, flush toilets, Public Bath houses.
An abundance of everything.
To maximize the ease, and to prevent waste.
They used pipes and lined the aqueducts with a leak proof material. Their irrigation canals were covered and lined. The bath Houses were fed with large pipes and pumps, bringing in fresh water and taking away the soiled water. To be used in irrigation, watering the plants that they ate.
Very efficient and smooth.
They used Lead.
Lead pipes.
Lead Aqueducts.
Lead Tubs and sinks for the wealthy.
Lead irrigation systems.
Lead.
What they intended was ease and comfort.
What they expected was for their world to go on forever.
What they got was madness.
A crumbling empire defeated by the barbarian armies trained by Romans.
lead.
This is irony.