What Is the Lead Poisoning Stare (and Is It Real)?

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Find out if the "lead paint stare" is based on science
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If you’ve been on TikTok lately, you may have run into a series of confusing videos where people stare at the camera and do nothing. These “lead paint stare” videos are mostly just jokes and memes about "boomer behavior," but it seems like there may be some science behind the joke. In this article, we’ll break down what the meme means, where it comes from, and if there’s any basis in reality for the joke.

Lead Paint Stare Meaning

The lead paint stare refers to a meme based on lead paint theory: the idea that people born before the 1970s (especially boomers) were exposed to toxic levels of lead paint as kids, and vacant staring is a symptom of that exposure. In the memes, users stare at someone in an uncomfortable way while saying nothing.

Section 1 of 4:

What is the lead paint stare?

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  1. Popularized by TikTok videos that poke fun at the older generations who grew up being exposed to lead paint, the “lead paint stare” is a joke about the tendency of older people to stare in a kind of uncomfortable, empty way for prolonged periods of time. The joke implies that people who stare like this were exposed to toxic levels of lead paint growing up. [1]
    • The lead paint stare memes are poking fun specifically at older folks. Boomers and the latter half of Gen-X are the primary target of most of these jokes, although there are occasionally some self-deprecating memes from younger people out there.
    • Lead is a neurotoxin that directly damages the brain when it is ingested in large amounts. [2] Unfortunately, lead was a very common ingredient in paint, pipes, and gasoline until the 1970s (lead paint wasn’t banned until 1978). [3]
    • The “lead paint theory” posits that the archetypal boomer behavior (staring at people blankly, believing conspiracy theories, getting upset easily, complaining, etc.) is a byproduct of damage from lead paint. [4]
    • The original lead paint stare meme took off in 2024. Posted by user @thejarrodbenson, the first “lead paint stare” meme blew up in 2024. You can check out more examples on TikTok .
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Section 2 of 4:

Is the lead paint stare based in fact?

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  1. When looking for the symptoms of toxic lead exposure, medical professionals do not have “blank expression” or “staring a lot” as evidence on their checklist. Here are the typical medical symptoms associated with lead poisoning: [5]
    • Intellectual disability and learning difficulties
    • Irritability
    • Sluggishness
    • Hearing loss
    • Headaches
    • Difficulty with memory or concentration
    • Mood disorders
  2. While it is not a commonly listed as a official symptom, medical experts have noted that people who were poisoned by lead tend to lose focus, space out, and react slowly to things, so a “strange stare” certainly seems like an appropriate side effect of lead poisoning, even if it isn’t an “official” symptom. [6]
    • A large number of older adults have been exposed to toxic lead levels. As of 2015, 170 million U.S.-born people had been exposed to a dangerous level of lead at some point. Of that 170 million, 90% of them were born between 1950 and 1981. [7]
  3. 3
    All things considered, the “lead paint stare” logic makes sense. Given the symptoms and anecdotal evidence from medical professionals, the premise behind the “lead paint stare” makes sense. There is no single conclusive answer, and more research is being done all the time, but there is some evidence that lead paint theory may be true—even if it started out as a bit of a meme. [8] Here are the key points:
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Section 3 of 4:

Why Lead Paint Stare Memes Are So Popular

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  1. If there’s anything that younger people enjoy today, it’s really strange memes. Even in the past 10 years alone, memes have gotten really bizarre . The lead paint stare memes—which involve people basically just making silly faces and staring in silence—play nicely into the current comedic environment. [9]
  2. 2
    It’s common for younger people to “punch up” at older people. There’s no question that older generations after World War 2 had an easier time “making it” than younger people today. They had basically zero tuition costs for school, so no student debt, and their wages were higher on a relative level while they enjoyed more prosperity and fewer recessions. [10] As a result, memes that poke fun at older people have really taken off the past decade or so, and the “lead paint stare” memes fall into that category.
    • The “Ok boomer” jokes are perhaps the most prominent and direct example of this phenomenon.
    • The fact that older generations may have had it easier as a whole does not mean that every old person was just handed everything they have, just FYI.
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Section 4 of 4:

Understanding Generational Humor

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  1. While it might sound like this is a particularly rude behavior, it’s actually kind of a universal thing. Every generation razzes the younger and older generations. Millennials and their avocado toast, Gen Z and their addiction to social media, Gen Alpha and their dumb skibidi memes, everybody catches a stray now and then, so don’t take it personally, boomers! [11]
    • That said, it is totally reasonable to get a little bit annoyed if you feel like you’re always the butt of a joke. Just try to take it in stride!

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      References

      1. ↑ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8307752/
      2. ↑ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8307752/
      3. ↑ https://www.epa.gov/lead/protect-your-family-sources-lead
      4. ↑ https://www.iflscience.com/how-lead-poisoning-changed-the-personality-of-a-generation-60322
      5. ↑ https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lead-poisoning/symptoms-causes/syc-20354717
      6. ↑ https://news.fiu.edu/2023/legacy-of-lead
      7. ↑ https://apnews.com/article/science-health-environment-and-nature-centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention-bec63d5a6e98f952ad6d111c90e5a1b2
      8. ↑ https://skepchick.org/2023/10/is-lead-to-blame-for-crime-boomer-stupidity/
      9. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/aug/13/how-did-millennial-comedy-get-so-surreal
      1. ↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabelcontreras/2021/12/17/millennials-and-gen-xers-are-not-crazy--baby-boomers-had-it-easier-financially-and-a-big-reason-is-student-debt/
      2. ↑ https://sare.pl/en/blog/vademecum/from-a-boomer-to-a-zoomer-stereotypes-in-the-perception-of-generations/

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