In the 1920s, a con man named William Bailey bottled real radium and sold it as “perpetual sunshine” — a cure-all tonic that doctors prescribed and pharmacies stocked. His most devoted customer was Eben Byers, a wealthy steel executive and U.S. Amateur golf champion, who drank roughly 1,400 bottles before his jaw began to disintegrate. Here’s the full story of Radithor, the radium fad it rode in on, and the death that finally got it banned.
Shop the styles/items featured in this video:
- ☢️ “The Radioactive Boy Scout” and other radium-era history (book)
- 🧪 Vintage-style apothecary bottle / decor piece
- 💡 Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women (book)
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