Talk:A Pot of Violant Ink/@comment-87.212.51.78-20160202132411/@comment-25364371-20190421085555

You many not lick the nib now, but it was a commonplace thing prior to the 20th century when quills were used for everyday writing, not just calligraphy. I'd hazard a guess that modern inks are probably different in composition than writing inks of the last 2000 years or so.

As for the Radium girls, they were instructed to 'sharpen' the point of the pen with their lips and assured that radium was safe. They were lied to and many died.