When Sir John Franklin set sail in 1845 with HMS Erebus and HMS Terror to traverse the Northwest Passage, he carried over three years' worth of canned provisions. When the entire crew vanished, early forensic investigations pointed a finger at high lead levels found in exhumed remains, linking the tragedy to hastily soldered tin cans supplied by contractor Stephan Goldner. However, modern historical re-evaluations challenge this popular lead-poisoning narrative.
Researchers note that lead exposure was already ubiquitous in Victorian Britain through piping and pewter, meaning the elevated lead levels were likely pre-existing. Instead, evidence points toward bad manufacturing conditions that allowed Clostridium botulinum to thrive inside improperly sterilized cans. The rapid onset of neuromuscular weakness from lethal botulinum toxin, paired with severe scurvy and tuberculosis, far better explains the swift cognitive and physical decline that forced the crew to abandon ship in the freezing Arctic desert.