People actually drank radium back then
That is sad and scary! According to Wiki, it was also in lotions.
shareRadium was also used to make clock faces glow in the dark back then, by young girl workers who would brush the deadly material onto the numbers on the dial and, before doing so, LICK the brush to "point" them, thus ingesting the material and causing horrible degradations of their bodies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radium_dial
I just saw the movie Radium Girls yesterday. I also watched a few YouTube videos regarding the lawsuits in the 20's. Back then, it was one of the highest paying jobs for women. At the end of the movie,I read that the case was the genesis for worker's compensation. I also read, that after nearly 80-90 years, the women's remains are still radioactive. Some were buried in lead coffins. There are pictures of a few women testifying from their beds. Very sad.
shareAgreed, it was a time when health and safety was never considered.