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(#6) Radithor Supposedly Cured Impotence And Other Health-Related Woes
Radithor was a radium- and thorium-laced water that was sold in small vials. A few drops of it a day could cure impotence and "restore vigor" – or, so it purported to be the case. The product was made by Bailey Radium Laboratories of East Orange, New Jersey, who actually encouraged users to disprove its claims of containing the radioactive substances. The product was removed from the market after one heavy user who reportedly went through around three vials a day of the stuff, playboy Eben Byers, died a horrific death when his jaw disintegrated.
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(#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.
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(#1) Radium-Lined Cups Were Used To Make Radioactive Beverages
These days, people drink bottled or filtered water. Back in the early 20th century, those who could afford it drank radioactive water. One popular way of making this water, which supposedly could cure many different ailments, involved the use of a metal cup or container that was lined with radium. Any water poured into the vessel was exposed to the radioactive material and picked up its properties. The Revigator was one such device; its makers claimed that it contained radon. Of course, this only "worked" if the device actually contained radium – many of the "radioactive" medical marvels on the market were scams.
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(#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.
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(#4) Men Placed Wax Coated Radium Rods In Their Urethras As A Cure For Impotence
Men have always struggled with impotence. Now, there are medications like Viagra; back in the early 1900s, there were "bougies." These were radium-laced wax rods that men inserted directly into their urethras to treat impotence. This treatment is now cringe inducing not only because of the way it took place, but also because placing radioactive material close to reproductive organs is a very bad idea.
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(#12) Gout And Neuralgia Were Taken Care Of With Radium Tablets
Radium tablets are still a legitimate medical treatment for people suffering from various types of cancer. However, back in the late 19th century, these tablets were sold on pharmacy shelves and supposedly cured gout, neuralgia (stabbing nerve pain), and numerous other ailments. These radioactive tablets, sold under brand names like Arium and Radione, were taken daily by people who simply wanted to feel better or have "the strength of iron."
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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.
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