The Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab was one of many children’s chemistry sets that included radioactive materials, in this case four kinds of uranium. The Gilbert lab was recommended for “only boys with a great deal of education”, and was priced at $50.00, an astronomical sum in those days. The high price was the reason for the disappearance of these kits rather than the danger of the materials. You could buy less expensive kits for your youngster in the sixties, such as the Atomic Energy Lab which only had one kind of uranium, but also contained radium.
What could possibly make your smile brighter than radioactive toothpaste? A German firm called the Auer Company (Auergesellschaft) diverted thorium supplies from the Nazi atomic program in 1944 when it became clear that Germany would not win the war. The forward-thinking company saw the future of nuclear materials in cosmetics and developed Doramad radioactive toothpaste. Besides the usual wonderful benefits of radiation, the marketing mentioned that radiation would hinder bacteria in the mouth.
Yikes!
See more gems here.
Whenever I went to a shoe store as a child, as a sales gimmick, the clerk would have you step on an x-ray machine that was powerful enough to let you see your foot bones right through your shoes.
The un-shielded x-ray emitter was right at testicle height…nice!
As you can see another responsible well thought rant full of total non-sense.
There is nothing wrong with fast food. It’s perfectly fine and nutritious food.
Lets talk about what the recent argument against fast food really is, it’s an attack on the lower class working family.
There is nothing in McDonalds food that is any more unhealthy than food in any fancy restaurant or home kitchen. It’s a hamburger it may be a tad high in sodium but that’s it, it’s a fast affordable source of protein and carbohydrates.
Guess what McDonaalds secret agenda is,… you ready for it…. To serve good tasting affordable food to people so they will come back and buy more.
I’m not sure what people think the secret hidden agenda is behind fast food.
My dad was a design engineer on the Enrico Fermi reactor plant at eh time of my conception and birth, so I’m getting a kick out of this. Dad used to tell us about the old-time dentists who would hold the dental x-ray plates in the patient’s mouth with their thumbs, and what happened to their thumbs after many years of exposure. Dad had a lot of x-rays after breaking his back as a young man. He wouldn’t let any dentist take a dental x-ray. He also moved us as far away from Detroit as possible when the reactor opened. Want a great read? There’s a fun book called “We Almost Lost Detroit” about the Fermi.
Lynn #38…I attended high school within sight of that nuke plant, as it was being built. It’s a nice area, too bad you moved away. 🙂
Rider,
Like I said, you are a damn fool, or just plain intentionally ignorant.
McDonalds products, just like any other restaurant of a similar type, are products designed to give ‘maximum satisfaction’ at minimum cost, while making you return for more. They are actually addictive. And their marketing is designed around building and supporting that addiction.
You may claim that they are only ‘a tad’ high in sodium, but the truth is that even their ‘healthy food’ is atrocious, with a Grilled Chicken Club having almost 1700 mG of sodium, which by itself is higher than the British maximum for an entire day (1600) and darn close to the maximum of 2400 in the USA recommended maximum. And that is the recommended for healthy people, not your typical McDonalds client.
And how about something as innocent as McNuggets? They contain no less than 7 petroleum byproducts, including butane (lighter fluid) added intentionally. Yummy. 60% processed corn. 20% sugar like products. And that is without the glop they call a sauce.
You can believe what you want to believe, but the facts are the facts… McDonalds, Taco Bell, Burger King, KFC couldn’t care less about the health of their clientele…. they will knowingly sell stuff that is poisoning their clientele and make the maximum profit possible in the process. They are very little different from tobacco companies… and few would argue that they don’t sell poison. And just like with cigarettes, only the really dumb or ignorant still smoke, or eat at McDonalds or similar ‘junk’ places.
#34. Yes, I know a lot of doctors. Many are friends of mine, some are clients. That opinion was culled from the docs themselves. Glad you’re one of the honest ones.
My favorite is the radioactive TestiCap. Makes Mr Johnson glow.
Still looking for something to turn me into the incredible hulk.
My folks got me a series of science kits when I was twelve or so. One of them had a sample of a radioactive element (don’t remember which) on the point of a pin in a tube with walls coated with a scintillating material. The idea was that you would set this thing up with a magnifying glass, then sit in a completely dark room for 15 or 20 minutes to accustom your eyes to darkness, then look through the glass to see the scintillations. Even then, the number of events was at most a few every ten seconds. Can’t have been more than a few micrograms of whatever it was.
Good times!