Crime Salad – "The Deadly Radium Craze"

Release Date: December 20, 2025
Hosts: Ashley and Ricky

Episode Overview

In this special year-end episode, Ashley and Ricky take a deep dive into the bizarre and deadly history of the "Radium Craze" that swept the early 20th century. Departing from their usual true crime format, the hosts unravel the strange allure, corporate deception, and tragic fallout of the radium industry—with a particular focus on the suffering and activism of the Radium Girls. The episode explores how ignorance, marketing, and profit motives led to widespread tragedy and ultimately changed labor history.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Miraculous Discovery and Hype of Radium

[03:58–05:02]

• At the dawn of the 20th century, radium—extracted from uranium—was hailed as a symbol of hope, progress, and even magic.
• It found its way into consumer products: chocolate, toothpaste, makeup, and health tonics.
• The signature "glow" was from surrounding materials bombarded by radiation, not radium itself.

Ashley [04:44]: "It showed up in chocolate toothpaste makeup, and was even marketed as a health drink."

The Radium Dial Industry and the “Radium Girls”

[05:43–09:48]

• During WWI and into the 1920s, factories hired hundreds of young women to paint glowing watch dials, notably using a paint called "Undark."
• Women were told the work was safe—even beneficial—being encouraged to "lip point" their brushes, ingesting radium daily.

Ashley [06:36]: "Supervisors instructed them to lip point their brushes... Each lick delivered a tiny dose of radioactive poison."

• The body absorbs radium like calcium, so it accumulates in bones, especially the jaw, leading to horrific degeneration.
• Early symptoms included bone pain, tooth loss, and spontaneous fractures.
• Molly Maggia’s case: Her jaw crumbled and fell out after a tooth extraction; her death was fraudulently listed as syphilis.

Corporate Deception and the Fight for Justice

[09:48–11:33]

• Companies suppressed medical findings and altered death certificates to hide the truth.

Ashley [09:05]: "It was a deliberate effort to basically smear their reputations, silence their families and protect the corporation."

• When independent assessments by honest scientists emerged, companies covered up the results.

Ricky [10:18]: "US Radium altered his findings, submitted a fake version to regulators, and claimed that everything was fine."

• In 1927, attorney Raymond Berry filed suit for the Radium Girls. US Radium stalled, hoping the women would die before a verdict was reached.
• Famous quote from journalist Walter Lippmann:

Ashley [11:16]: “There is no possible excuse for such delay. The women are dying. This is a heartless proceeding. It is unmanly, unjust and cruel. This case calls for simple, quick, direct justice.”

• The eventual settlement in 1928 offered some compensation but came too late for most victims; yet, the case revolutionized workplace protections.

Radium Products for the Wealthy & The Downfall of “Radithor”

[15:00–16:33]

• While factory workers suffered, wealthy Americans voluntarily drank radium health tonics—most notoriously, Radithor ("perpetual sunshine").
• Industrialist Eben Byers consumed over 1,400 bottles and famously suffered catastrophic bone decay—his jaw falling off.

Ashley [15:43]: "The radium water worked fine until his jaw came off."

• Byers' death, as a wealthy white man, finally forced authorities to act, exposing the bias in who received attention and justice.

Ashley [16:08]: "No one in power stepped in. But when a wealthy man suffered the same fate, suddenly, the danger of radium became a national concern."

The Ubiquity (and Absurdity) of Radium in Everyday Life

[16:34–21:36]

• Radium was infused into everything: water crocks (“Revigator”), cosmetics, butters, toothpaste, and even children’s toys.

Ricky [17:03]: "They were literally sipping arsenic, lead, and radium at the dinner table."

• Glow-in-the-dark toys and even radium condoms were sold for their supposed health or "vitality" benefits.

Ashley [19:56]: "Actual glowing in the dark condoms infused with radium."

• Classic radium alarm clocks, which glowed brightly, became a household staple—unbeknownst to users, they lingered dangerously radioactive for decades.
• The hosts reflect humorously on their own childhood glow-in-the-dark toys (thankfully, much safer).

The Legacy of the Radium Craze

[22:03–24:27]

• Slick marketing convinced the public that radium was the future, overriding mounting scientific evidence of its harm.

Ashley [22:03]: "Companies were selling hope and beauty in glowing bottles while hiding the danger. And workers were sacrificed for profit."

• The courage of the Radium Girls paved the way for key labor reforms, legal recognition of occupational illnesses, and future workplace safety regulations.

Ashley [23:47]: "Their fight eventually forced the legal system to recognize occupational illnesses and created the groundwork for future radiation safety roles."

• Public awareness and regulation only truly followed with the highly publicized fate of Eben Byers, but the legal groundwork was laid by Radium Girls.

Radium Today & Final Reflections

[23:31–24:57]

• Modern glow-in-the-dark products use safe chemicals (zinc sulfide or strontium aluminate).
• Sealed tritium gas is used in long-glow applications and is not a hazard to humans.
• Vintage radium artifacts can still set off Geiger counters—collectors are, in effect, storing radioactive antiques.

Ashley [24:27]: "Collectors who track down radium watches are literally keeping radioactive antiques in their home."

• The story stands as a cautionary tale about misplaced trust, the power of marketing, and the costs when safety is sacrificed for profit.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Ashley [05:02]: "Workers would inhale and ingest this poison in the name of progress."
• Ashley [07:41]: "Their jaws that were first to crumble... until the bone simply disintegrated."
• Ashley [11:16]: (quoting Walter Lippmann): "There is no possible excuse for such delay. The women are dying. This is a heartless proceeding."
• Ashley [15:43]: "The radium water worked fine until his jaw came off."
• Ricky [17:03]: "They were literally sipping arsenic, lead, and radium at the dinner table. And people thought that it was healthy."
• Ashley [22:03]: "Companies were selling hope and beauty in glowing bottles while hiding the danger. And workers were sacrificed for profit."
• Ricky [23:00]: "Radium Girls, they should have had their own propaganda poster... almost superheroes."
• Ashley [24:27]: "Collectors who track down radium watches are literally keeping radioactive antiques in their home."

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:58] – Introduction to the radium craze and magical marketing
• [05:43] – The beginning of the radium dial industry; introduction of the "Radium Girls"
• [06:36] – Details on the lip-pointing practice and radiation exposure
• [07:41] – Early symptoms and the tragic case of Molly Maggia
• [09:48] – Corporate cover-ups and altered medical findings
• [10:18] – Suppression of damning scientific reports
• [11:16] – Walter Lippmann’s condemnation; legal fight for justice
• [15:00] – Wealthy Americans, health tonics, and the Eben Byers case
• [16:33] – Shift in government action following Byers’ death
• [17:03–21:36] – Everyday radium products: crocks, cosmetics, toys, condoms, clocks
• [22:03] – Impact on workers' rights, scientific regulation, and lingering legacy
• [23:31] – Modern safety, present-day radium items, and what we’ve learned

Tone and Style

The episode is fast-paced, with banter between Ashley and Ricky lending a mix of dark humor and genuine shock. Their conversational tone delivers both empathy for the victims and incredulity at the folly and greed of the radium era, making complex science and historical injustice accessible and engaging.

Summary

This episode of Crime Salad masterfully reveals one of history's most macabre corporate cover-ups and the tragic fallout from society’s blind faith in "progress." With vivid storytelling, Ashley and Ricky detail how marketing magic and recklessness led to the suffering of countless workers and unwitting consumers—highlighting the bravery of the Radium Girls, whose fight forced a nation to confront uncomfortable truths and change labor protections for generations. The story serves as both a chilling warning and a celebration of hard-won justice, all told with the hosts’ signature wit and humanity.