Energy drinks have been around for nearly a century, but the ingredients and formulations have changed significantly over time. In the 1920s, energy drinks were far from being considered healthy alternatives to today’s caffeine and taurine-laden beverages. One notorious example was RadiThor, which contained real energy in the form of radium.
RadiThor was developed by William J. A. Bailey, a Harvard dropout with no medical background. The drink consisted of radium dissolved in water and was marketed with catchy slogans such as “A Cure for the Living Dead” and “Perpetual Sunshine.” These slogans aimed to convince consumers that RadiThor was a miracle tonic capable of providing boundless energy and vitality.
At the time, the harmful effects of radiation exposure were not well-understood, and radium was believed to possess health benefits. As a result, products containing radium, such as RadiThor, gained popularity among those seeking a quick energy boost.
I’m reminded of stories about Chinese emperors drinking liquid mercury to achieve immortality
Radiation was used for everything before they realized how bad it was for you. They used x-rays for everything. Including to tell if a shoe fit well.
It always makes me wonder what seemingly benign thing we do today will look silly in 50 years because it caused cancer or some other fatal disease. How long did they use asbestos as insulation and who could have predicted that? Perhaps there’s a food dye that causes liver cancer, or maybe there’s a plastic chair that causes Alzheimer’s if you sit in it too much. You just can’t predict what’s going to be bad and there are so many things you just can’t avoid that it feels like a crap shoot.
There was radioactive toothpaste with thorium-x in Germany before World War 2. It promised whiter teeth and new cell energy. After Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the product disappeared