Radioactive quackery 1649850 224902574 2008-07-10T22:38:15Z Rama 84330 [[Image:Tho-Radia-IMG 1228.JPG|thumb|"Tho-radia powder, based on [[radium]] and [[thorium]], according to the formula of Dr Alfred Curie"...]] '''Radioactive quackery''' refers to various products sold during the early 20th century, after the discovery of [[radioactivity]], which promised radioactivity as a cure for various ills. It is now well known that radioactivity can actually be harmful and cause various forms of cancer, among other things. ==Notable examples== * [[Radithor]], a solution of [[radium]] [[salts]] claimed to have curative properties (the industrialist [[Eben Byers]] was poisoned by it) * Many brands of [[toothpaste]] were laced with radium that was claimed to make teeth shine whiter * Bath waters were advertised as being "highly radioactive" * "Radioactive pens" * [[Revigator]] pots, which added [[radon]] to drinking water ==See also== * [[Electrical quackery]] * [[Snake oil]] * [[Quackery]] * [[shoe-fitting fluoroscope]]s ==External links== * [http://www.theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/Files/LivingWithRadiation.html "Living with Radiation", book on the subject] * [http://www.orau.org/ptp/collection/quackcures/quackcures.htm Radioactive Quack Cures] * [http://www.barbaragoldsmith.com/work1.htm Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie], by Barbara Goldsmith * {{fr icon}} [http://monsite.wanadoo.fr/tho-radia/index.jhtml L’histoire étonnante du Tho-Radia], by Thierry Lefebvre and Cécile Raynal [[Category:Radioactivity]] [[Category:Pseudoscience]] {{Med-stub}}