-
(#14) Uranium Blankets Helped With Arthritis Pain
These days, uranium blankets are a part of nuclear reactors, and they aren't even a little bit related to the therapeutic ones touted as cures for arthritis pain in the early 20th century. Those particular blankets looked like standard, quilted ones, only, within the fabric squares, were bits of uranium. These blankets were sold as cures up through the 1950s, even after the dangers of uranium exposure were well known.
-
(#9) Tho-Radia Cosmetics Claimed To Brighten Skin
Tho-radia was a line of makeup and skin creams that contained radium. It was heavily marketed to women in the United States and France, who purchased the items in the hopes that the product's claims – to rejuvenate and brighten skin – were true. To add a little extra cachet to the brand, its creator, Dr. Alfred Curie (no relation to Marie and Pierre Curie) put his name on the ads.
-
(#3) Laying In Radioactive Sand Was A Treatment For Arthritis
One of the main byproducts of radium manufacturing is a fine-grained sand that is, of course, highly radioactive. Back in the early 1900s, before people realized how harmful exposure to it was, they claimed that exposure to the sand could successfully treat arthritis pain. Many spas opened up rooms where people could sit and rest their feet on the sand in the hopes of being cured. The ironic thing is that, even though people knew of the dangers that radioactivity could pose, these "Uranium Sitting Houses" were in business up through the 1950s.
-
(#15) Radium Tonic Prevented Gray Hairs
A product called Caradium was created in the early 1900s. It was a tonic that was applied to hair to prevent gray hairs from growing, thanks to the power of its active ingredient – radium. It also promised to make any current gray hairs revert back to their old color. Caradium was the invention of Frederick Godfrey, a man whose credentials included "hair specialist."
-
(#7) Radium Suppositories Restored People's "Vigor"
Speaking of restoring "vigor," how about a radium suppository? These small, radioactive pellets were sold in boxes and claimed to help men with their impotence issues. Made by several different companies, including the Vital-O-Gland Company and the General Remedies Company, there is no proof that the suppositories actually contained any radioactive material, or that they worked as they were supposed to. Thank goodness.
-
(#11) Endocrine Glands Were Regulated With The Radiendocrinator
The endocrine system regulates the body's hormone production. The glands in the endocrine system include those in the neck – the thyroid – as well as the pituitary gland in the brain. However, the horrifying detail here involves the glands that men would treat with the Radiendocrinator – their testes. Treatment via the Radiendocrinator involved holding the device in place sometimes for hours at a time, with the handy (and included) strap that resembled an athletic supporter. Ironically, the creator of the device, William J.A. Bailey, died of radiation-induced bladder cancer in 1949.
New Random Displays Display All By Ranking
About This Tool
The 20th century is an era of rapid development of basic science. The element radium number 88 was discovered by Marie Curie and her husband Pierre in 1898 when they were studying bituminous uranium. In 1903, Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in Physics and became the first woman to receive the prize. In the early 20th century, radium was loved by the medical field because of its amazing function to destroy cancer cells.
At that time, medical devices containing radium were widely used to treat high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, etc. We now know that radium is radioactive and can treat cancer, but its early use in medical devices was life-threatening. The random tool introduced 15 horrifying medical devices of the 20th century that contained radium.
Our data comes from Ranker, If you want to participate in the ranking of items displayed on this page, please click here.