by It’s hard to believe, but there was once a time when the rich and powerful spent small fortunes on radium-infused distilled water advertised as a cure for a variety of illnesses.
Knowing what we know now about radioactive elements and their effects on the human body, most of us wouldn’t dare touch, let alone drink, a bottle of radium-containing water, but at the beginning of the twentieth century, the so-called “remedy” was all the rage among wealthy socialites.
Radithor and other radioactive elixirs were sold as harmless remedies that could combat fatigue, and cure all sorts of conditions, from cancers to impotence.
Unfortunately, in reality, they slowly killed the very people they were supposed to heal.
Radithor, which was distilled water containing two radioactive substances, radium and mesothorium, is probably the most famous example of radioactive quackery, most likely because it’s also the only one that can be unambiguously linked to someone’s death.
It was sold in small 2 oz bottles and was guaranteed to contain at least 1 microcurie each of Ra-226 and Ra-228.
Source
Knowing what we know now about radioactive elements and their effects on the human body, most of us wouldn’t dare touch, let alone drink, a bottle of radium-containing water, but at the beginning of the twentieth century, the so-called “remedy” was all the rage among wealthy socialites.
Radithor and other radioactive elixirs were sold as harmless remedies that could combat fatigue, and cure all sorts of conditions, from cancers to impotence.
Unfortunately, in reality, they slowly killed the very people they were supposed to heal.
Radithor, which was distilled water containing two radioactive substances, radium and mesothorium, is probably the most famous example of radioactive quackery, most likely because it’s also the only one that can be unambiguously linked to someone’s death.
It was sold in small 2 oz bottles and was guaranteed to contain at least 1 microcurie each of Ra-226 and Ra-228.
Source
