Snake-oil Patent Medicine Literature in the Public Domain?

SonOfTheExiles · Post by **SonOfTheExiles** » November 7th, 2016, 2:12 am

Bet you can't find a more "

" than "Radithor".

"The Radium Water Worked Fine Until His Jaw Came Off"

http://www.periodictable.com/Samples/090.8/s13.JPG

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radithor

GrayHouse · Post by **GrayHouse** » November 8th, 2016, 6:19 am

This isn't public domain, but definitely worth a read - The radioactive Boy Scout

David hadn’t hit on the idea to try to build a breeder reactor when he began his nuclear experiments at the age of fifteen, but in a step down that path, he was already determined to “irradiate anything” he could.

You just know that isn't going to end well...

And you may be familiar with this one in which an old radiotherapy source was stolen from an abandoned hospital site in Brazil. It's fascinating and shocking in equal measure.

Here's some PD stuff I found that may be worth a project for someone (I haven't checked the catalogue):
- The Great American Fraud By Samuel Hopkins Adams - A Series of Articles on the Patent Medicine Evil
- Quacks and Grafters - slightly satirical
- or from 1670 - A Short View of The Frauds, and Abuses Committed by Apothecaries

In more of a science vein, a government publication from 1966 - Radioisotopes in Medicine

Regards,
-Ian

Post by **chocoholic** » November 10th, 2016, 3:40 pm

GrayHouse wrote:In more of a science vein, a government publication from 1966 - Radioisotopes in Medicine

I spotted that one too! I've had it on my list for a long time, but I might never get around to actually recording it. It's an easy read (considering the subject), meant for the general public.

Post by **annise** » November 10th, 2016, 5:35 pm

Do you think he's still alive

I've often wondered what the mercury we played with so much in chemistry did to us all - but he went several steps further

Anne

GrayHouse · Post by **GrayHouse** » November 12th, 2016, 1:09 pm

annise wrote:Do you think he's still alive

David Hahn died in September this year at the age of 39 - I didn't know that when I originally posted. His cause of death is unclear, but his arrest in 2007 (connected with removing radioactive smoke detectors from his apartment building) suggests that he was unperturbed by his earlier indiscretions. The words 'nuclear' and 'hobbyist' don't sit together easily...