This is one of the most truly bizarre uses of Radium. A radioactive condom which was supposed to increase sexual performance.
radioactive products
A gallery of products using radioactive materials.
Because radiation was seen to be new and powerful, at the beginning of the 20th century radioactive material was used in products such as face creams, mineral water and medicine, by equating power with rejuvenation. For similar reasons it was even used in items from spark plugs to condoms.
Many of these items are from an age when the dangers of radiation were not known. Radiation is obviously useful as a healing tool for cancer therapy, but it is still used in legal Chinese remedies, which are respected more because of their age rather than efficacy, and in quack homeopathic medicines which are tolerated while unproven, because they are harmless water.
Vote on your fave examples.
| Chart permalink: |
In the annals of marketing genius a very very special place should be given to the slogan for Uranium ice cream. This, however, is not quite what seems, being the only item (apart from the homeopathic remedy) in this list which is actually a cheat since it doesn’t contain any radioactive material. Rather, Uranium ice cream is an example of how enthusiastic people were about radioactivity in the early days, being named to celebrate a local discovery of Uranium ore.
These very nice periodic table kits include actual samples of all non gaseous naturally occurring elements including uranium ore.<p /><p />Before you get too excited, most of the bedrock in New York contains Uranium.
The alchemy-like power of Radium created the powerful, mysterious mineral equals healing myth, as applied to dangerous radioactive materials. This was coupled with the spa water trend which was more popular, at the time, with fascists rather than liberals to create the really, really bad idea of putting radioactive elements in drinking water. Radioactivity could actually cure cancer, but only if you already had it. If you ever want to win an argument against people who argue that alternative medicine shouldn’t be subject to the rigors of science, this is the product to pick.
The history of cosmetic creams is riddled with disaster. From lead face-whitening which caused Elizabeth I’s hair to fall out, sparking a 300 year, global, wig-wearing frenzy to blinding shackled bunny rabbits with beauty. This is no exception.
The tale of radium watch dials is a sad one. To create luminous dials for wartime watches, dials were painted with radium. Many of the women in the paint factories received lethal doses of radiation.
You can buy these 50 year old spark plugs which are no longer dangerous, for $70 mail order.
Advertised as being completely natural because the pad contained pure unrefined Radium ore.
Uranium had long been used to color glass, till it was banned in the 40s. In the 1950s this ban was actually lifted and in rare cases , with workers wearing the correct protective clothing Uranium glassware has been made for collectors.
Presumably the Radium here is very impure, however its amazing to see that Radium is still marketed as a remedy.
Glow in the dark Radium paint was made from a mixture of a Radium salt, a Phosphor and an adhesive. Some more interesting objects after the link.
This item is from the Office of Radiation Protection, Radiation Mystery Items - WA State Dept. of Health. As the title suggests people are not sure exactly what the bulb which contained a radioactive source, was used for.
Ironically, since homeopathic dilutions are pure water, this is possibly the only really safe item in this list.
