"Tho-radia powder, based on radium and thorium, according to the formula of Dr Alfred Curie". Radium (ˈreɪdiəm is a radioactive Chemical element which has the symbol Ra and Atomic number 88 Thorium (ˈθɔːriəm is a Chemical element with the symbol Th and Atomic number 90 . .

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. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on Radioactive decay is the process in which an unstable Atomic nucleus loses energy by emitting ionizing particles and Radiation. 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 fluoroscopes

External links

• "Living with Radiation", book on the subject
• Radioactive Quack Cures
• Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie, by Barbara Goldsmith
• (French) L’histoire étonnante du Tho-Radia, by Thierry Lefebvre and Cécile Raynal