Radioactive quackery

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, among other things, cancer.

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
 * Fluoroscopes used for shoe fitting (really a case of X-ray quackery)