space

Radium is the substance that killed a generation of woman. Not through accident, but careful, precise work. Each does of luminous compound containing one of the most radioactive elements on the planet. In the early 1920s, radium was the one element of the age. Scientists had only recently discovered its eerie green glow and mysterious warming properties.  Radium was added to everything form toothpaste to chocolate, marketed as a health tonic in factories across america young women were hired to paint watch dials with radium paint, creating timepieces that glowed in the dark, perfect for soldiers in the trenchs of World War I.  They were taught a technique called lip pointing, using their lips to shape the brushes into a fine point after each stroke, each time ingesting a small amount of radium paint. Their employers assured them that it was perfectly safe. In fact, it would improve their complexion.   Their employers were wrong. Radium has a half-life of 1600 years. WHen ...