Radithor: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
m clean up using AWB |
date of WSJ article. titled the inline ref to it. removed duplicate extternal link to it. |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
[[File:Radithor bottle (25799475341).jpg|thumb|A bottle of Radithor at the [[National Museum of Nuclear Science & History]] in New Mexico]] |
[[File:Radithor bottle (25799475341).jpg|thumb|A bottle of Radithor at the [[National Museum of Nuclear Science & History]] in New Mexico]] |
||
'''Radithor''' was a [[patent medicine]] that is a well-known example of [[radioactive quackery]] and specifically of excessively broad and pseudoscientific application of the principle of [[radiation hormesis]]. It consisted of triple distilled water containing at a minimum {{convert|1|uCi|lk=on}} each of the [[radium]] 226 and 228 isotopes. |
'''Radithor''' was a [[patent medicine]] that is a well-known example of [[radioactive quackery]] and specifically of excessively broad and pseudoscientific application of the principle of [[radiation hormesis]]. It consisted of triple distilled water containing at a minimum {{convert|1|uCi|lk=on}} each of the [[radium]] 226 and 228 isotopes. |
||
== |
==History== |
||
Radithor was manufactured from 1918 to 1928 by the Bailey Radium Laboratories, Inc., of [[East Orange, New Jersey]]. The owner of the company and head of the laboratories was listed as [[William J. A. Bailey]], a dropout from [[Harvard College]],<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,743525,00.html |title=Medicine: Radium Drinks |date=Apr 11, 1932|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |accessdate=11 July 2010}}</ref> who was not a medical doctor.<ref>[http://www.clpgh.org/exhibit/neighborhoods/northside/nor_n106.html |
Radithor was manufactured from 1918 to 1928 by the Bailey Radium Laboratories, Inc., of [[East Orange, New Jersey]]. The owner of the company and head of the laboratories was listed as [[William J. A. Bailey]], a dropout from [[Harvard College]],<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,743525,00.html |title=Medicine: Radium Drinks |date=Apr 11, 1932|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |accessdate=11 July 2010}}</ref> who was not a medical doctor.<ref>[http://www.clpgh.org/exhibit/neighborhoods/northside/nor_n106.html Literary Digest, 16 April 1932]</ref> It was advertised as "A Cure for the Living Dead"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.museumofquackery.com/devices/radium.htm|title=Radium Cures – museumofquackery.com|work=museumofquackery.com}}</ref> as well as "Perpetual Sunshine". The expensive product was claimed to cure impotence, among other ills.<ref name=Conversation>{{cite news|last1=Jorgensen|first1=Timothy J.|title=When 'energy' drinks actually contained radioactive energy|url=https://theconversation.com/when-energy-drinks-actually-contained-radioactive-energy-67976|accessdate=4 November 2016|work=The Conversation US|date=2 November 2016}}</ref> |
||
[[Eben Byers]], a wealthy American socialite, athlete, industrialist and [[Yale College]] graduate, died from Radithor radium poisoning in 1932.<ref>{{cite news |author |
[[Eben Byers]], a wealthy American socialite, athlete, industrialist and [[Yale College]] graduate, died from Radithor radium poisoning in 1932.<ref>{{cite news |author= |title=Death Stirs Action on Radium 'Cures'. Trade Commission Speeds Its Inquiry. Health Department Checks Drug Wholesalers. Autopsy Shows Symptoms. Maker of "Radithor" Denies It Killed Byers, as Does Victim's Physician in Pittsburgh. Walker Uses Apparatus. Friends Alarmed to Find Mayor Has Been Drinking Radium-Charged Water for Last Six Months. |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0F16F93D5A13738DDDAB0894DC405B828FF1D3 |quote=Federal and local agencies, as well as medical authorities in various parts of the country, were stirred to action yesterday as a result of the death of Eben M. Byers, wealthy Pittsburgh steel manufacturer and sportsman, who died here Wednesday at the Doctors' Hospital from causes attributed to radium poisoning resulting from the drinking of water containing radium in solution. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=April 2, 1932 |accessdate=2011-10-01}}</ref> Byers was buried in a lead-lined coffin; when exhumed in 1965 for study, his remains were still highly radioactive.<ref name=Conversation/> |
||
Byers's death led to the strengthening of the [[Food and Drug Administration]]'s powers and the demise of most radiation-based [[patent medicine]]s. A ''Wall Street Journal'' article (1989 or later) describing the Byers incident was titled "The Radium Water Worked Fine Until His Jaw Came Off".<ref>http://www.case.edu/affil/MeMA/MCA/11-20/1991-Nov.pdf Medical Collectors Association, Newsletter No. 20, November 1991, page 18</ref> |
|||
== |
==References== |
||
{{Reflist}} |
|||
<references /> |
|||
* |
*Radithor (ca. 1918). 15 Sep. 2004. Oak Ridge Associated Universities. 12 Apr. 2005 [http://www.orau.org/ptp/collection/quackcures/radith.htm]. |
||
== |
==External links== |
||
* |
*[http://www.orau.org/PTP/collection/quackcures/radith.htm Radithor] at the [http://www.orau.org/PTP/museumdirectory.htm Oak Ridge Associated Universities Health Physics Historical Instrumentation Museum Collection] |
||
| ⚫ | |||
* [http://www.case.edu/affil/MeMA/MCA/11-20/1991-Nov.pdf Reprint of ''The Wall Street Journal'' article, "The Radium Water Worked Fine Until His Jaw Came Off"] |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
[[Category:Patent medicines]] |
[[Category:Patent medicines]] |
||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
[[Category:Products introduced in 1918]] |
[[Category:Products introduced in 1918]] |
||
Revision as of 05:48, 13 November 2017
.jpg)
Radithor was a patent medicine that is a well-known example of radioactive quackery and specifically of excessively broad and pseudoscientific application of the principle of radiation hormesis. It consisted of triple distilled water containing at a minimum 1 microcurie (37 kBq) each of the radium 226 and 228 isotopes.
History
Radithor was manufactured from 1918 to 1928 by the Bailey Radium Laboratories, Inc., of East Orange, New Jersey. The owner of the company and head of the laboratories was listed as William J. A. Bailey, a dropout from Harvard College,[1] who was not a medical doctor.[2] It was advertised as "A Cure for the Living Dead"[3] as well as "Perpetual Sunshine". The expensive product was claimed to cure impotence, among other ills.[4]
Eben Byers, a wealthy American socialite, athlete, industrialist and Yale College graduate, died from Radithor radium poisoning in 1932.[5] Byers was buried in a lead-lined coffin; when exhumed in 1965 for study, his remains were still highly radioactive.[4]
Byers's death led to the strengthening of the Food and Drug Administration's powers and the demise of most radiation-based patent medicines. A Wall Street Journal article (1989 or later) describing the Byers incident was titled "The Radium Water Worked Fine Until His Jaw Came Off".[6]
References
- ^ "Medicine: Radium Drinks". Time. Apr 11, 1932. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
- ^ Literary Digest, 16 April 1932
- ^ "Radium Cures – museumofquackery.com". museumofquackery.com.
- ^ a b Jorgensen, Timothy J. (2 November 2016). "When 'energy' drinks actually contained radioactive energy". The Conversation US. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
- ^ "Death Stirs Action on Radium 'Cures'. Trade Commission Speeds Its Inquiry. Health Department Checks Drug Wholesalers. Autopsy Shows Symptoms. Maker of "Radithor" Denies It Killed Byers, as Does Victim's Physician in Pittsburgh. Walker Uses Apparatus. Friends Alarmed to Find Mayor Has Been Drinking Radium-Charged Water for Last Six Months". New York Times. April 2, 1932. Retrieved 2011-10-01.
Federal and local agencies, as well as medical authorities in various parts of the country, were stirred to action yesterday as a result of the death of Eben M. Byers, wealthy Pittsburgh steel manufacturer and sportsman, who died here Wednesday at the Doctors' Hospital from causes attributed to radium poisoning resulting from the drinking of water containing radium in solution. ...
- ^ http://www.case.edu/affil/MeMA/MCA/11-20/1991-Nov.pdf Medical Collectors Association, Newsletter No. 20, November 1991, page 18
- Radithor (ca. 1918). 15 Sep. 2004. Oak Ridge Associated Universities. 12 Apr. 2005 [1].