Radithor was a radioactive patent medicine brand of distilled water containing at least 1 microcurie (37 kBq) each of the radium-226 and 228 isotopes, sold in half-ounce bottles.

Radithor is one of the few radioactive quack cures that can be unambiguously linked to someone's death. Donated by Roger Macklis and David Allard. Size: 2 1/8" high (not including cork)

By the time Eben Byers realized what the Radithor was doing, it had already eaten away his jaw and much of his skull. Learn about his tragic radioactive death.

Radithor was advertised as a radioactive mineral water that contained a secret mixture of radium and mesothorium. Although the exact composition is unknown, scientific studies done later indicate that each $1 half-ounce bottle originally contained slightly more than 1 uCi each of radium 228 and radium 226.

Jul 20, 2022 · When Bailey introduced Radithor, a radioactive medication, in 1918, he advertised it as “A Cure for the Living Dead” and “Perpetual Sunshine”. The fact that this medication purportedly treated 150 different medical ailments was what made it so unique.

One such nostrum was Radithor, a popular and expensive mixture of radium 226 and radium 228 in distilled water. Radithor was advertised as an effective treatment for over 150 "endocrinologic" diseases, especially lassitude and sexual impotence.

Dec 5, 2023 · Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie had discovered radium in just 1898, and in the first quarter of the 20th century, this miraculous glowing metal was quickly hijacked as a health treatment. It was a popular additive in products such as …

A case in point is Radithor. This product, a liquid, came in half-ounce bottles with each bottle guaranteed by the manufacturer to contain 2 µCi of radium. Eben Byers, the well-known Pittsburgh industrialist, U.S. amateur golf champion, and a man-about-town, could attest to the veracity of the manufacturer's claims.

Radithor was claimed to “stimulate functional ability, lower metabolism, correct imperfect nutritional processes and eliminate toxic waste.” What it did was poison people. Bailey charged a dollar a day for the product, a staggering amount at the time. When asked how long it had to be consumed, he gave the pat answer: “Only as long as you ...

Radithor was created in the 1920s by W.J.A. Bailey of New Jersey as "A Cure for the Living Dead." Consisting of a mixture of distilled water and radium, it eluded FDA regulation (since the ingredients were natural elements and not drugs!).