The Radioactive "Miracle Water" That Killed Its Believers
Popular Science · Published on March 27, 2026
Loved this video? Share it!
Send it to someone who'll love it, or post it on your networks.
Description
If you lived in the 1920s, you might have found a pamphlet advertising “the greatest therapeutic force known to mankind.” Radithor was a tiny bottle of clear, colorless water that claimed to cure acne, anemia, heart disease, poison ivy, impotence, asthma, and any other malady you could imagine. There was only one side effect: DEATH. So, why did 1920s Americans go gaga for radioactive water? Well, it's complicated. https://www.popsci.com/science/radioactive-water/ Host: Annie Colbert Reported by: April White Editing and graphics by Avital Oehler Written and produced by Matt Silverman
See also
The Baffling Cases of Spontaneous Human Combustion
Popular Science · Science
The Real Reasons Permanent Daylight Savings Time Never Stuck
Popular Science · Science
Let's launch our garbage into the sun!
Popular Science · Science
Americans loved drinking radioactive 'miracle water' in 1920s
Popular Science · Science
The Experiment That Tried to Weigh the Human Soul
Popular Science · Science
What's Really Underneath This Massive, Noisy Siberian Crater?
Popular Science · Science