1 00:00:01,480 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you Should Know, a production of I 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark. 3 00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:20,320 Speaker 1: There's Charles W. COVID Bryant. Do you want me to 4 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,040 Speaker 1: to intro you like that? Chuck? Well, I guess the 5 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:25,640 Speaker 1: cats out of the bag. Yeah, we wanted to start 6 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:28,000 Speaker 1: this episode off with the p s A. I have 7 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:31,600 Speaker 1: COVID everybody, and uh, the reason I'm making this so 8 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:36,640 Speaker 1: public is a couple of reasons. One to remind everyone 9 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:42,280 Speaker 1: that we're not out of the woods yet. I'm vaccinated fully, Um, 10 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:46,400 Speaker 1: this is almost likely the delta variant. There's no way 11 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:49,520 Speaker 1: to prove that because I've done a lot of research there. 12 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:53,080 Speaker 1: They're only testing for variants and like specific places than 13 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:57,560 Speaker 1: using statistics to like blow that out to the whole mhmm. 14 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:00,080 Speaker 1: But it is the it just like this week it 15 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:04,400 Speaker 1: was breaking news that it dropped from about the vaccine 16 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:09,440 Speaker 1: effective to against the delta variant. Yeah, I mean that 17 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:12,639 Speaker 1: would that alone would make me suspect that's what it is. Yeah, 18 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 1: And it's the most dominant strain. It's most likely to 19 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 1: bust the vaccine. Uh. I went out of town over 20 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:22,399 Speaker 1: the weekend with friends and like of that group have 21 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:26,440 Speaker 1: COVID now so and they were vaxed. So, oh my god, 22 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:28,800 Speaker 1: it is no joke. Everyone, We're not out of the woods. 23 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:33,400 Speaker 1: Please keep taking it seriously. Please get vaccinated if you haven't, 24 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:35,639 Speaker 1: And if you can use this, I know we're probably 25 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 1: preaching to the choir mainly, but if you can use 26 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: this example to try and convince someone you love to 27 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:46,759 Speaker 1: get vaccinated that is hesitant, then that's why I'm saying this. Well, Chuck, 28 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 1: I know Jerry would never come on and say this, 29 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:53,200 Speaker 1: but we're very very glad that you're doing okay, and 30 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:56,360 Speaker 1: we love you very much. We're very proud of you. 31 00:01:56,440 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 1: Jerry doesn't express herself emotionally like that, not like you do. 32 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:03,720 Speaker 1: Know I'm well known for that kind of thing. But 33 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:05,840 Speaker 1: the good news and the final reason I mentioned it 34 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:09,200 Speaker 1: is is also get vaccinated because it is doing at 35 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:11,840 Speaker 1: least part of its job, and that I had a 36 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 1: couple of days of feeling pretty bad with a cold 37 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 1: and have had four days now and feeling pretty good, 38 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:21,280 Speaker 1: and it is it is doing its job and keeping 39 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:25,160 Speaker 1: it very mild. And uh, I took off a couple 40 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:27,880 Speaker 1: of categories where if I wasn't vaccinated, it may not 41 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:31,399 Speaker 1: be so mild. Yeah, you know that. That's why you're 42 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 1: l u c k y. You ain't got no alum 43 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: bi you lucky? All right, Well, now we can talk 44 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:42,799 Speaker 1: about some not so lucky young women. That's true. I'm 45 00:02:43,040 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 1: hats off to you for that. P. S A too. 46 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:47,920 Speaker 1: By the way, as I never finished, I never finished, Chuck, 47 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:51,440 Speaker 1: there's Jerry Jerome Roland over there. Stuff you should not. 48 00:02:51,560 --> 00:02:55,240 Speaker 1: That's right. So now you can take over my former 49 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:59,360 Speaker 1: duties of introing the episode. Well, I mean, it's just funny. 50 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:01,680 Speaker 1: This is another are not funny. But I feel like 51 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:05,640 Speaker 1: we're diving more and more into sort of the horrors 52 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:09,680 Speaker 1: of not only just the workplace. But I feel like 53 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:12,120 Speaker 1: we've covered a lot more over the past couple of years, 54 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 1: these situations in America's history where corporations have tried to 55 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 1: just bury things that made them look bad at the 56 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:24,400 Speaker 1: expense and the lives of people that work for them. Yeah, 57 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:28,960 Speaker 1: we've been examining how terrible life is without government regulations. 58 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:33,400 Speaker 1: That's right. Another p s A. It's true. And and 59 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: like you said, we're talking about some unfortunate women who 60 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 1: um were gravely mistreated in part because of like the 61 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 1: place and time that they occupied. But also because they 62 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:50,200 Speaker 1: were women, and because there were again no workplace safety 63 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:54,160 Speaker 1: laws or anything like that. Um. But they despite you know, 64 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:58,760 Speaker 1: everything that was stacked against them, including things like their gender. Um. 65 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:04,520 Speaker 1: They they basically rose up and and established some of 66 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:10,600 Speaker 1: the first successful lawsuits against employers for basically workplace abuse 67 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:15,760 Speaker 1: or at the very least workplace um dereliction of duty 68 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 1: of the employer to look out for workers safety. I 69 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:22,719 Speaker 1: think that's the technical way to put it. Yeah, and 70 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:25,719 Speaker 1: you know, we're talking about the Radium Girls, and uh, 71 00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:29,240 Speaker 1: there was a movie about this. It's not we we 72 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:33,520 Speaker 1: loved the hundreds of emails about the Ghost of how 73 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:36,159 Speaker 1: do you pronounce it again? The Brotherhood of the Beast, 74 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:39,440 Speaker 1: Brotherhood of the Wolf. That was the name of the movie. 75 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:41,960 Speaker 1: And apparently I'm the only ship. Yeah, the only person 76 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:46,080 Speaker 1: who has never seen that movie. Yeah. Same here, same here, 77 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:48,719 Speaker 1: Like I think we are the only two. I don't. 78 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:51,800 Speaker 1: I can't remember getting more emails about a single thing 79 00:04:51,839 --> 00:04:54,560 Speaker 1: than that one. Yeah, they're literally still coming in and 80 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:57,080 Speaker 1: I uh, I do remember once I saw the trailer, 81 00:04:57,160 --> 00:04:58,600 Speaker 1: was like, oh, I know that movie a little bit, 82 00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:00,800 Speaker 1: but I didn't know this worry. But there was a 83 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 1: Radium Girls movie from three years ago that I sort 84 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:10,200 Speaker 1: of half watched today. Um, it's I don't want to 85 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:14,039 Speaker 1: I don't want to disparage anyone because filmmakers tried to 86 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:16,839 Speaker 1: get the word out about an important event in history. 87 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:19,479 Speaker 1: But I'll just say that the Roger Ebert dot com 88 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:21,480 Speaker 1: website gave it one and a half stars. And that's 89 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:27,359 Speaker 1: the only thing I'll say out of how many stars, Wow, 90 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:29,800 Speaker 1: it was not very You got a one and a 91 00:05:29,839 --> 00:05:32,960 Speaker 1: half percent? That is wow. Yeah, I I I did 92 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:35,120 Speaker 1: not watch that one. I haven't read the book yet either. 93 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:38,440 Speaker 1: But um, one of the problems with taking up something 94 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:40,279 Speaker 1: like this is, like it was the same thing with 95 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:43,320 Speaker 1: Henriett Alas when we did our episode of Kila Cells, 96 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:47,000 Speaker 1: where it's it's really hard to kind of dig past 97 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:51,520 Speaker 1: the wall of journalism surrounding like the release of a 98 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:55,520 Speaker 1: popular book and anything that is written in that book, 99 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 1: and that books take on the story. All of that 100 00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:03,520 Speaker 1: stuff basically be ums it like that's it, that's that's 101 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 1: just that, that's this person said this and this person 102 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:08,560 Speaker 1: played this role, and you know it just becomes like 103 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:11,400 Speaker 1: the story, I guess, is what I'm trying to say. 104 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:14,880 Speaker 1: Fortunately for Radium Girls. And I'm not taking away from 105 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:17,479 Speaker 1: Kate Moore's book at all. Um, from everything I've seen, 106 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:19,760 Speaker 1: it was extremely well researched and like it did a 107 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:21,880 Speaker 1: really great job of bringing this to the to the 108 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:26,479 Speaker 1: Forefront team. Um. But fortunately there's also like a lot 109 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:32,440 Speaker 1: of scholarship that was written and researched before that that 110 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:35,040 Speaker 1: still exists on the internet, so you can kind of 111 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:38,279 Speaker 1: like get into some other details too. Besides, well, the 112 00:06:38,279 --> 00:06:40,280 Speaker 1: book said this, and the book said that, and then 113 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:42,720 Speaker 1: also fortunately we had our buddy Dave Ruse help us 114 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:46,640 Speaker 1: out with some research too, and Dave hates books, he does, 115 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:49,919 Speaker 1: He's always burning books now. David, in fact, is the 116 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:54,240 Speaker 1: one that said we should definitely mention Kate Moore's seventeen 117 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:58,400 Speaker 1: book The Radium Girls, that we should have a sound 118 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:02,080 Speaker 1: effect for Colin's. Now, what if we had, like, um, 119 00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:05,440 Speaker 1: one of those in studio chorus as they go colon, 120 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:10,800 Speaker 1: they're colon. Be great? Okay, we need a barbershop quartet, Yeah, 121 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:14,040 Speaker 1: that'd be good. The Radium Girls in search sound effect 122 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 1: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women. Yes, but not one, 123 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:27,320 Speaker 1: but two punts the Dark Story America's Shining Women. So 124 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:30,640 Speaker 1: the whole thing about Radium and the Radium Girls, and 125 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:33,360 Speaker 1: that's what the press dubbed them. They also, I believe, 126 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:37,720 Speaker 1: called themselves the Society of the Living Dead, which is 127 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:41,240 Speaker 1: some pretty serious gallows humored considering like the state in 128 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:46,520 Speaker 1: shape that they were in. Um. They they were. Um. 129 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:50,640 Speaker 1: They kind of came out of this era where Radium, 130 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:54,520 Speaker 1: like the nineteen teens, the early nineties, the first the 131 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:56,960 Speaker 1: first Radium Girls are actually two sets, as we'll see, 132 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,800 Speaker 1: but they came out as era where three Radium was 133 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:03,880 Speaker 1: there three. Yeah, there was another factory that we're not 134 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:06,720 Speaker 1: even gonna have time to talk about. Okay, well, let's 135 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:09,520 Speaker 1: say there's what what decade was that one. I think 136 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:11,000 Speaker 1: it was the same decade. I think it was just 137 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:13,320 Speaker 1: another factory that you know, we just can't do a 138 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:16,560 Speaker 1: two hour show, I got you. So they well we're 139 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:19,800 Speaker 1: well on our way already. So um. But they existed 140 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:22,360 Speaker 1: in a in an era where radium was seen as 141 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:26,440 Speaker 1: this thing that was just this amazing cure, all tonic, 142 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:30,960 Speaker 1: a wonder of nature that was um put in all 143 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:35,280 Speaker 1: sorts of different products from cigarettes to condoms to there's 144 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:39,719 Speaker 1: a water called Rata thor that was irradiated water, that 145 00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:44,000 Speaker 1: radioactive water that you would drink to get the radioactivity 146 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:46,400 Speaker 1: in your body, because it was you know, thought to 147 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:51,000 Speaker 1: give you um like health, energy, vitalization, cure all sorts 148 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:53,880 Speaker 1: of diseases. It said that it bathed the stomach and 149 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:57,920 Speaker 1: liquid sunshine and all of this was pretty new stuff 150 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:02,120 Speaker 1: because it wasn't um more than two decades before, uh 151 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:07,080 Speaker 1: that Marie Curry and Pierre Cury Um discovered radium in 152 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:10,840 Speaker 1: the first place. Back. Yeah, I mean they discovered it, 153 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:14,000 Speaker 1: and I think they even named it. I think Latin 154 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:17,840 Speaker 1: radius means ray, and they knew that it emitted rays 155 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:21,080 Speaker 1: of energy even at that time, and you know, or 156 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:24,000 Speaker 1: very early on, they started using radiation to try and 157 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:26,640 Speaker 1: help treat cancer, Like hey, let's put this in a 158 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:28,960 Speaker 1: lead box and cut a hole in it and then 159 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:33,120 Speaker 1: put that whole over the human body, like aiming it 160 00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:36,760 Speaker 1: towards where a tumor might be. Like very obviously rudimentary stuff, 161 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:40,720 Speaker 1: and you have to make up boop boopo sound the 162 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:42,520 Speaker 1: whole time. That was kind of one of the roles 163 00:09:42,559 --> 00:09:45,440 Speaker 1: of the technician at the time, that's right, Uh. And 164 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:49,559 Speaker 1: you should have seen the audition tapes. Some people played 165 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:55,160 Speaker 1: zero rhythm. It would be like, Pep'm sorry, you're well qualified, 166 00:09:55,240 --> 00:10:01,959 Speaker 1: but uh so Cury. Actually she died um in four 167 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:04,720 Speaker 1: from a plastic anemia, which is a bone marrow disorder 168 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:09,000 Speaker 1: caused by radiation exposure. So they knew that it was 169 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:13,000 Speaker 1: dangerous and uh but it was still like like you said, 170 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:15,160 Speaker 1: it was in the you know, it was known as 171 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:17,480 Speaker 1: a cure for the living dead in that ratath or water, 172 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:23,640 Speaker 1: and I mean basically used for everything from gout to fatigue. 173 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:25,680 Speaker 1: And it was just one of those crazy times in 174 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:27,800 Speaker 1: American history where now we look back and we're like, 175 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:32,320 Speaker 1: this is just nuts. But back then they didn't know well. 176 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:34,480 Speaker 1: So there were two tacks. From what I could tell, 177 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:38,600 Speaker 1: there was the beginnings of um academic scholarship, and both 178 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:42,199 Speaker 1: of the curies had some sort of suspicion, and there 179 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:45,600 Speaker 1: was this idea that there was easily you could be 180 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:47,559 Speaker 1: exposed to too much. You didn't want to have too 181 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:50,240 Speaker 1: much radium, but a little bit was good for you. 182 00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:53,400 Speaker 1: But then there was also this academic tack that was like, no, 183 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:55,280 Speaker 1: this stuff might not be good at all, like we 184 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:58,280 Speaker 1: should really be careful with this. But the popular, the 185 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:02,320 Speaker 1: popular idea of it read in the newspapers, or you know, 186 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:05,480 Speaker 1: maybe even what your doctor thought about it. Um all 187 00:11:05,600 --> 00:11:10,640 Speaker 1: came from radium research that was almost exclusively underwritten and 188 00:11:10,679 --> 00:11:14,280 Speaker 1: in a lot of cases carried out by companies that 189 00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:16,800 Speaker 1: made their money off of radium. Like they were just 190 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:22,080 Speaker 1: touting this stuff as an amazing wonder element basically um 191 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:26,120 Speaker 1: and and so there was like almost these two overlapping 192 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:29,400 Speaker 1: worlds that weren't connected at the time in our understanding 193 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:32,800 Speaker 1: of radium in like the nineteen teens and nineteen twenties, right, 194 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:35,480 Speaker 1: So one of the other kind of cool and interesting 195 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:38,800 Speaker 1: things about radium is that it can make things glow 196 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:42,439 Speaker 1: in the dark. And glow in the dark is very 197 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:44,840 Speaker 1: sort of like who cares now, it's still kind of fun, 198 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:48,600 Speaker 1: But in the nineteen twenties, glow in the dark was 199 00:11:48,679 --> 00:11:52,360 Speaker 1: a very big deal. It was basically the future and 200 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:55,040 Speaker 1: kind of space age. And if you had a glow 201 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:58,280 Speaker 1: in the dark watch or a glow in the dark clock, 202 00:11:59,160 --> 00:12:01,640 Speaker 1: then you felt cool basically because you could see that 203 00:12:01,679 --> 00:12:04,439 Speaker 1: thing in the dark. And so of course these companies 204 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:09,680 Speaker 1: wanted to start painting watch faces and clocks with radium, 205 00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:13,120 Speaker 1: and they've got young women and sometimes even girls as 206 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:16,240 Speaker 1: young as like fourteen years old to do this stuff. Yeah, 207 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:19,160 Speaker 1: I think the first company at first they were working 208 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:22,600 Speaker 1: on military clocks and military dials like you might put 209 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:25,920 Speaker 1: in an airplane or something. And the first company I 210 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:28,439 Speaker 1: think that was established to do this was United States 211 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:31,760 Speaker 1: Radium back in nineteen sixteen in New Jersey, Orange, New Jersey, 212 00:12:31,840 --> 00:12:34,480 Speaker 1: I think. And like you said, they hired young girls, 213 00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:37,280 Speaker 1: very very young girls. Um. I think the oldest one 214 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:39,880 Speaker 1: I saw by far was twenty eight, but for the 215 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:44,280 Speaker 1: most part they were in their teens to early early twenties. 216 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:47,559 Speaker 1: And this was like a really big deal job like 217 00:12:47,679 --> 00:12:51,520 Speaker 1: that was very highly paying. I think they were in 218 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:57,880 Speaker 1: the women who painted radium or watch dials with radium paint. 219 00:12:58,240 --> 00:13:00,240 Speaker 1: We're in the top five percent of earner is in 220 00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:03,559 Speaker 1: America at the time. This is a factory job. Yeah. 221 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:06,240 Speaker 1: And then also its prestigious to from what I saw, Yeah, 222 00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:09,679 Speaker 1: the movies and you know, God, I don't know if 223 00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:11,880 Speaker 1: it's accurate or not. I'm gonna say what the movie said. 224 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:15,440 Speaker 1: The movie said that they were paid a penny per face, 225 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:19,079 Speaker 1: and a high earner could crank out two day, So 226 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:22,439 Speaker 1: that's about to two dollars a day. Okay, so that's 227 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:25,000 Speaker 1: like a million dollars today. I think that's also what 228 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:30,000 Speaker 1: the movie said, Well a million dollars double that, and 229 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:33,439 Speaker 1: that's about what a gram of radium cost. Uh yeah, 230 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:35,200 Speaker 1: and today's dollars that is, I think it's like a 231 00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:39,040 Speaker 1: hundred grand a graham in the nineties for a graham 232 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:42,199 Speaker 1: of radium. So they were they were they were themselves 233 00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:45,960 Speaker 1: highly paid, but they also, um, we're working with what 234 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:49,720 Speaker 1: was at the time the most expensive material on Earth um, 235 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:51,760 Speaker 1: and it makes sense that it would be so expensive, 236 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:56,600 Speaker 1: Like radium is really rare. It's super radioactive, but it's 237 00:13:56,640 --> 00:13:59,760 Speaker 1: really um. It occurs in very small amounts, which kind 238 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:02,880 Speaker 1: of let you realize how radioactive it is. That you know, 239 00:14:02,920 --> 00:14:07,160 Speaker 1: it's a daughter isotope of uranium. Whereas uranium decays, one 240 00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:10,320 Speaker 1: of the things that it becomes is is radium UM 241 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:14,120 Speaker 1: and in uranium or I think the curies when they 242 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:18,080 Speaker 1: first um discovered radium, they they found that after they 243 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:20,760 Speaker 1: took uranium out of this or pitch blend, which we 244 00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:23,720 Speaker 1: talked about in the uranium mining episode, that the pitch 245 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:27,600 Speaker 1: blend was still radioactive, So like what else is in here? 246 00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:32,560 Speaker 1: And out of ten tons of uranium or they managed 247 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:36,440 Speaker 1: to extract one milligram, So it would make sense, especially 248 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:38,400 Speaker 1: at the time, that it would cost a couple million 249 00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:41,520 Speaker 1: dollars for a single gram of that stuff. Yeah, and 250 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:45,200 Speaker 1: so these girls and young women were, uh, this stuff 251 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:48,480 Speaker 1: was getting in their hair, it was getting on their clothes. Um. 252 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:50,840 Speaker 1: It was sort of a badge of honor because you 253 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:54,280 Speaker 1: would go out that night dancing or something and you 254 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:57,120 Speaker 1: would glow a little bit. Uh. They would even purposely 255 00:14:57,160 --> 00:15:00,920 Speaker 1: put it on their teeth. Sometimes they were called ghost girls, 256 00:15:01,680 --> 00:15:05,720 Speaker 1: and it was it was. It wasn't a fad in 257 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:09,000 Speaker 1: that it was widespread because only a select few like 258 00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:11,160 Speaker 1: had their hands on it. But I think that's one 259 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:14,280 Speaker 1: of the reason the girls like these jobs is because 260 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:17,200 Speaker 1: they could go out and like attract attention because they 261 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:20,560 Speaker 1: had this glow in their hair and on their dresses. Yeah. 262 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:23,040 Speaker 1: I think also people knew that they were working with radium, 263 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:28,880 Speaker 1: and radium at the time was like um, Missy Elliott 264 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:31,800 Speaker 1: mixed with ecstasy back in the late nineties, like as 265 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:35,280 Speaker 1: cool as it got, you know what I mean? Goodness, thanks, 266 00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:37,440 Speaker 1: I'm just trying out some new stuff. How's it going. 267 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:40,160 Speaker 1: It's good. In fact, I think maybe we should take 268 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:43,080 Speaker 1: a break. I need to re examine that analogy so 269 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:46,160 Speaker 1: I can really fully grasp it. All right, you just 270 00:15:46,280 --> 00:16:11,200 Speaker 1: let it sink a buddy, So, Chuck, I gotta say 271 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:13,440 Speaker 1: before we start back again, you don't seem like you 272 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:17,240 Speaker 1: have COVID. Are you faking? I'm not faking. Uh, I 273 00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:20,440 Speaker 1: am a little spacey though. You're doing great. I mean 274 00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:23,960 Speaker 1: you've researched an episode of stuff you should know, probably 275 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:27,520 Speaker 1: the most challenging podcast on the planet, and you're presenting 276 00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:30,440 Speaker 1: it like just like an ace. So hats off to 277 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:35,360 Speaker 1: you again. Well, thanks man, you got it. So um. 278 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:38,120 Speaker 1: You were saying before that the radium girls were covered 279 00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:42,800 Speaker 1: in um radioactive dust, and they were because they would 280 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:45,440 Speaker 1: mix their own paint, uh, And they worked with a 281 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:47,960 Speaker 1: specific kind of paint called un Dark. It was a 282 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:51,120 Speaker 1: proprietary blend where they would mix them um. They would 283 00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:52,960 Speaker 1: basically mix it with water and a little bit of 284 00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:56,000 Speaker 1: solvent and create their own paint from this radium dust. 285 00:16:56,320 --> 00:16:59,280 Speaker 1: So radium dust was like all over the place, which 286 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:01,840 Speaker 1: is bad enough. You know, you can get pretty radioactive 287 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:05,800 Speaker 1: for me exposed radium radium dust like that, but it 288 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:09,840 Speaker 1: was far far worse in those working conditions because they 289 00:17:09,840 --> 00:17:14,760 Speaker 1: were actually ingesting the radium through the paint as well. Yeah. 290 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:16,919 Speaker 1: I mean this is where if you think this already 291 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:19,760 Speaker 1: sounds like a workplace violation, this is where it just 292 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:23,280 Speaker 1: gets bonkers because they would actually, you know, if you're 293 00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:28,199 Speaker 1: painting one millimeter wide number on a watch, uh, and 294 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:30,560 Speaker 1: I think the watch faces themselves were like three and 295 00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:33,240 Speaker 1: a half centimeters, you have to have a tiny little 296 00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:36,200 Speaker 1: point on the end of that paint brush. And painters 297 00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:38,240 Speaker 1: know one way you can achieve this is something called 298 00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:42,320 Speaker 1: lip pointing, which is when you dip the the brush 299 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:45,320 Speaker 1: and the paint, in this case radium, and then you 300 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:48,040 Speaker 1: put it in your mouth and just sort of press 301 00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:50,000 Speaker 1: it down with your lips to make that point finer. 302 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:54,480 Speaker 1: And they were doing this with radium. They were literally ingesting, 303 00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:58,520 Speaker 1: like orally ingesting radium in their mouths, which means orally 304 00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:06,680 Speaker 1: and in inviting cancer into their bodies unknowingly, yes, which 305 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:10,719 Speaker 1: is some pretty um. I mean, that's not good, like 306 00:18:10,760 --> 00:18:14,679 Speaker 1: when you're ingesting the paint itself. Apparently, there was a 307 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:18,800 Speaker 1: guy who worked for Prudential, the insurance company back in 308 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:22,719 Speaker 1: published a paper. His name is fred Hoffman, Frederick Hoffman, 309 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:25,920 Speaker 1: and he calculated that, um, the radium girls who who 310 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:29,600 Speaker 1: painted these watch faces. Because of that lip pointing technique, 311 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:33,800 Speaker 1: they were ingesting something like one and three quarter grahams 312 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:36,280 Speaker 1: of this paint every day. It's a lot of money 313 00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:38,320 Speaker 1: had to lip point so much. It is a lot 314 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:42,159 Speaker 1: of money. From the viewpoint of the of the factory owners, 315 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:43,640 Speaker 1: you'd think they would have been like, no, we gotta 316 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:46,119 Speaker 1: stop that, because that is a lot of paint. But 317 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:48,520 Speaker 1: that's also a lot of radium that they were taking 318 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:52,040 Speaker 1: into And the big problem with that is not just 319 00:18:52,119 --> 00:18:54,720 Speaker 1: that you know, it's getting inside of you now and 320 00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:57,000 Speaker 1: it's burning a hole right through you. It's not really 321 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:02,440 Speaker 1: doing that. Radium is a an alkali earth metal, and 322 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:05,680 Speaker 1: it just so happens that calcium is also an alkali 323 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:09,560 Speaker 1: earth metal into your bones. They're they're the same thing. 324 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:12,720 Speaker 1: Your body doesn't differentiate between the two, and we our 325 00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:15,720 Speaker 1: bodies are set up to divert calcium basically from the 326 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:19,680 Speaker 1: bloodstream right to the bones to help build strong bones, 327 00:19:19,800 --> 00:19:22,199 Speaker 1: you know, um, And we do the same thing with 328 00:19:22,359 --> 00:19:25,879 Speaker 1: radium to our bodies too. So when you ingest radium, 329 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:28,840 Speaker 1: it enters your blood stream and it goes right to 330 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:32,480 Speaker 1: your bones and it sets about screwing you up big time. 331 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:35,520 Speaker 1: From that point on. Yeah, And apparently some of these 332 00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:38,320 Speaker 1: young women were saying, you know, they're asking questions. Early on, 333 00:19:38,359 --> 00:19:40,000 Speaker 1: they were saying, like this, it's bad for you. Can 334 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:43,280 Speaker 1: it hurt you? Um? And the you know, the US 335 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:46,720 Speaker 1: Radium Corporation was I mean, they started covering up very 336 00:19:46,760 --> 00:19:48,880 Speaker 1: early what was going on. They were doing their own 337 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:52,320 Speaker 1: research and they said and of course the people that 338 00:19:52,359 --> 00:19:54,239 Speaker 1: were making that radium water did the same thing. They 339 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:56,679 Speaker 1: would have They would hire out these private companies to 340 00:19:56,720 --> 00:20:00,280 Speaker 1: do this research basically and say everything's fine, and said, 341 00:20:00,320 --> 00:20:02,960 Speaker 1: you know, ingesting a little bit is just fine. It 342 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:05,840 Speaker 1: will pull a rose in your cheek and it's great. 343 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:09,040 Speaker 1: And I guess they just sort of full stop there. 344 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:12,880 Speaker 1: They didn't talk much about how much ingesting a graham 345 00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:15,960 Speaker 1: every time you did that over time would be like 346 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,120 Speaker 1: over a period of years. Um. I think in nineteen 347 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:22,639 Speaker 1: sixteen they put out their own publication UM from the 348 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:27,399 Speaker 1: Radium Publishing Company that said, uh, the physiological action of 349 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:33,280 Speaker 1: radium sounds not unlike a fairy tale, right, which is weird. 350 00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:37,760 Speaker 1: And they said that the red blood cell count surges, um, 351 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:40,880 Speaker 1: so you you will actually kind of seem a little healthier. 352 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:44,400 Speaker 1: I couldn't find that anywhere. From what I saw you, Um, 353 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:47,600 Speaker 1: it causes hemo license, which is like the rupturing of 354 00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:50,480 Speaker 1: red blood cells. But um, this is the kind of 355 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:53,760 Speaker 1: stuff that like these publications were peddling and doctors in 356 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:57,720 Speaker 1: the public we're just taking it wholesale. Um. And that 357 00:20:57,800 --> 00:20:59,920 Speaker 1: was where that idea that Radium was good for you 358 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:03,840 Speaker 1: came from, was from publications from people like the Radium 359 00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:08,040 Speaker 1: Publishing Company. There was just a lot of credulity at 360 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:11,399 Speaker 1: the time, I guess, um, which is weird because this 361 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:15,119 Speaker 1: is also like one of the most avaricious periods in 362 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:18,560 Speaker 1: American history as well. What does that mean? It means 363 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:21,280 Speaker 1: that like people were praying on other people for for 364 00:21:21,320 --> 00:21:24,400 Speaker 1: profit and money, that like that you would do anything 365 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:32,000 Speaker 1: for a dollar, you know, avarice. Okay, makes sense. In fact, 366 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:34,800 Speaker 1: I will, man, I'll let that one slide. And I 367 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:36,600 Speaker 1: don't know if I've said this or not. I know 368 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:40,320 Speaker 1: Jerry wouldn't, but we're really glad you're doing that. Uh. 369 00:21:40,359 --> 00:21:43,480 Speaker 1: And it's funny in that factory, they didn't say anything 370 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:45,760 Speaker 1: about the fact that, like, oh, you know, can this 371 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:47,800 Speaker 1: be dangerous? Because I've noticed all the men that are 372 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:52,159 Speaker 1: working around Radium are wearing these big lead smocks and aprons, 373 00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:56,200 Speaker 1: and uh, they're handling this stuff with ivory tipped tongs. 374 00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:58,840 Speaker 1: What's when we're putting this in our mouth? And they're like, 375 00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:02,080 Speaker 1: don't worry about that. Yeah, And it wasn't so at 376 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:07,120 Speaker 1: at Us Radium in Orange, New Jersey. It was it's 377 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:10,719 Speaker 1: it was part of the corporate culture to basically just 378 00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:15,679 Speaker 1: treat it really cavalierly. Like even the head chemist, um 379 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:20,800 Speaker 1: Edwin Lehman, who would pay dearly for his cavalierness, was 380 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:23,480 Speaker 1: recorded by an investigator who will talk about in a 381 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:27,159 Speaker 1: little bit um as as basically just handling blumps of 382 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:32,080 Speaker 1: radium or or like radi like radium powder without any 383 00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:34,720 Speaker 1: kind of gloves, no protection, no lead apron anything, and 384 00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:37,480 Speaker 1: just kind of just you know, scoffing at the idea 385 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:40,480 Speaker 1: that that it was it was, you know, dangerous. So 386 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:43,600 Speaker 1: you know, some people there knew that it was dangerous 387 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:46,680 Speaker 1: and treated it so. But the corporate culture in that 388 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:50,480 Speaker 1: company and in particular was that, you know, don't be 389 00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:53,399 Speaker 1: don't be ridiculous, who cares, Stop stop talking, stop asking 390 00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:56,119 Speaker 1: questions kind of thing. Yeah, So this next part I'm 391 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:59,280 Speaker 1: going to issue a trigger warning because it's certainly got 392 00:22:59,359 --> 00:23:03,199 Speaker 1: me with my tooth fears. So if you have dental 393 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:07,399 Speaker 1: fears and tooth fears, uh, just be warned. Uh. This 394 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:09,400 Speaker 1: is from Kate Moore's book and it's about the very 395 00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:12,960 Speaker 1: first I think the first young woman to fall ill 396 00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:16,119 Speaker 1: at the U s r C. Her name was Molly. 397 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:19,679 Speaker 1: I don't know if it's Maggia or Maggia. And this 398 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:23,240 Speaker 1: is she was twenty four years old. She said she 399 00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:26,879 Speaker 1: felt like she was about ninety. Um, she had this really, 400 00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:28,439 Speaker 1: I mean she ached all over, but she had this 401 00:23:28,480 --> 00:23:32,640 Speaker 1: pain and her lower jaw specifically, and then eventually went 402 00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:36,280 Speaker 1: to the dentist, had these um, these abscesses that were 403 00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:38,840 Speaker 1: just oozing in her mouth, and her dentist tried to 404 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:41,920 Speaker 1: pull some of her teeth that were rotting, and a 405 00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:46,280 Speaker 1: part of her jaw literally came out. And it says 406 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:49,600 Speaker 1: in in the book he removed it not by an operation, 407 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:52,200 Speaker 1: but merely by putting his fingers in the mouth and 408 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:54,840 Speaker 1: lifting it out. Uh. And I think a few days 409 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:58,800 Speaker 1: later took out her entire lower jaw the same way, 410 00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:02,480 Speaker 1: just pulled it out of her mouth. Yes, that's horrifying. 411 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:06,600 Speaker 1: And if you have what's known as dentophobia, you're probably 412 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:08,800 Speaker 1: on the floor right now. It may never go see 413 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:13,240 Speaker 1: a dentist again. It got me as well, man, when 414 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:15,880 Speaker 1: I was just like, this is not this is so wrong. 415 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:20,200 Speaker 1: The crazy thing is is Molly Magia. She she lived 416 00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:25,600 Speaker 1: for um I believe another year or so um with 417 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:29,000 Speaker 1: this increasing abscess and like the radium was sitting in 418 00:24:29,119 --> 00:24:33,280 Speaker 1: her bones in this particular case, in her jaw and 419 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:38,520 Speaker 1: her teeth um and just decaying the tissue around it, 420 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:41,960 Speaker 1: the bone around it, and she just basically rotted from 421 00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:46,200 Speaker 1: radiation poisoning from the inside of her jaw out. She 422 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:49,879 Speaker 1: suffered from abscesses and eventually died from an abscess. The 423 00:24:50,119 --> 00:24:52,919 Speaker 1: this abscess apparently your whole the whole left side of 424 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:57,160 Speaker 1: her face. The different abscesses grew into one mega abscess 425 00:24:57,200 --> 00:25:00,480 Speaker 1: and it finally reached her jugular vein and just ate 426 00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:02,720 Speaker 1: away at her jugular vein and she could no longer 427 00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:08,359 Speaker 1: pump um, uh, pump pump blood from her heart. Yeah. 428 00:25:08,359 --> 00:25:11,960 Speaker 1: That see now I sound like I have COVID the 429 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:14,760 Speaker 1: I mean, that is horrific as you can imagine. And 430 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:19,000 Speaker 1: it gets worse in that when her doctors were asked 431 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:21,680 Speaker 1: what their best guess was of the cause of death, 432 00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:25,640 Speaker 1: they blamed it on syphilis. The company jumps on this 433 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:28,480 Speaker 1: and says, and this was a big part of the movie. 434 00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:32,400 Speaker 1: They basically start saying that these girls are are spreading 435 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:35,280 Speaker 1: syphilis around each other and that's what they're sick from. 436 00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:37,320 Speaker 1: I think in the movie they called it v D 437 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:40,440 Speaker 1: of course, but um, it was you know, one part 438 00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:44,600 Speaker 1: to sort of shame them into being quiet, and to 439 00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:47,760 Speaker 1: say that in another part to just obviously, you know, 440 00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:53,680 Speaker 1: take the blame as far away from radium as possible. Men. Yeah, 441 00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:57,960 Speaker 1: for real, so all you know, not to say in 442 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:00,880 Speaker 1: the in the doctor's defense, but they did. No one 443 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:05,400 Speaker 1: knew what what radium poisoning was at the time, right, 444 00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:10,159 Speaker 1: So it's not like syphilis wasn't an entirely you know, 445 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:13,800 Speaker 1: just bonkers diagnosis. But there was another thing I saw 446 00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:17,040 Speaker 1: that that um, that they considered too, that just didn't 447 00:26:17,119 --> 00:26:19,520 Speaker 1: make sense but had kind of come and gone before 448 00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:24,400 Speaker 1: among match stick makers, UM, which was something called fossey 449 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:28,040 Speaker 1: jaw or phosphorus jaw, where you're you're like, if you 450 00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:31,680 Speaker 1: were exposed to white white phosphorus, which matchmakers were, when 451 00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:35,480 Speaker 1: you're making the head of a match. Um, it basically 452 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:39,440 Speaker 1: gets um absorbed into your jaw and rots your jaw. 453 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:41,919 Speaker 1: So they had kind of seen something like this before, 454 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:45,399 Speaker 1: but not since like the early nineteenth century. It was 455 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:49,040 Speaker 1: much more prevalent in the eighteenth century, and they didn't 456 00:26:49,040 --> 00:26:52,440 Speaker 1: think that these these women were working with phosphorus anyway, 457 00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:55,240 Speaker 1: So it was kind of baffling. But yeah, the idea 458 00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:59,320 Speaker 1: that that you know, even if the doctor did naively 459 00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:02,200 Speaker 1: or innocent, you know, say it was syphilis or something 460 00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:05,840 Speaker 1: like that, the company very much jumped on that kind 461 00:27:05,880 --> 00:27:09,760 Speaker 1: of thing to use it to paint that unflattering picture 462 00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:12,960 Speaker 1: of the women who would go on to litigate this company. 463 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:16,800 Speaker 1: And it was totally that kind of a company and 464 00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:19,600 Speaker 1: it was run by those kind of people for sure. 465 00:27:19,720 --> 00:27:24,240 Speaker 1: US dial was yes. So twelve uh, and up to 466 00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:27,199 Speaker 1: this point, twelve of them died. Think about fifty of 467 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:30,879 Speaker 1: them were ill at this point, and they are still 468 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:34,160 Speaker 1: full steam ahead. They don't haul production at all. They 469 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:38,560 Speaker 1: don't even call for an investigation until nineteen when it 470 00:27:38,640 --> 00:27:40,880 Speaker 1: leaks out to the press a little bit and they 471 00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:43,040 Speaker 1: start to get, you know, some sort of bad press 472 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:46,000 Speaker 1: about what might be going on. So they commissioned an 473 00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:49,840 Speaker 1: independent investigation that found out that there was definitely connection 474 00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:53,919 Speaker 1: going on and that their exposure to radium is leading 475 00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:57,320 Speaker 1: to these illnesses and deaths. And they buried it and 476 00:27:57,560 --> 00:28:03,000 Speaker 1: got their own, uh not dependent commission together they investigated 477 00:28:03,119 --> 00:28:05,680 Speaker 1: and came back and said, oh, no, no, no, these 478 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:09,199 Speaker 1: young ladies are suffering from a hysterical condition brought on 479 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:12,720 Speaker 1: by coincidence. Yeah, and that was actually not even like 480 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:17,600 Speaker 1: a panel's opinion. That was um Arthur Rhoder, the president 481 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:21,240 Speaker 1: of us DIAL, that was his opinion. Yeah, that was 482 00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:24,119 Speaker 1: his opinion of the whole thing, and that the independent 483 00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:28,560 Speaker 1: investigation was a legitimately independent investigation. It was led by 484 00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:31,760 Speaker 1: Dr Cecil Drinker and his wife, Dr Katherine Drinker, who 485 00:28:31,800 --> 00:28:37,240 Speaker 1: are both Harvard Harvard public health professors. And when they 486 00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:40,120 Speaker 1: came up with these findings like yeah, this is this. 487 00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:43,600 Speaker 1: These women are all dying horrible deaths from radiation poisoning 488 00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:48,240 Speaker 1: from eating this paint because of this stupid lip pointing technique, UM, 489 00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:51,600 Speaker 1: and the company did bury it. Not only UM did 490 00:28:51,600 --> 00:28:53,880 Speaker 1: they bury it. It's even worse than that. They took 491 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:58,000 Speaker 1: the Drinker's report and altered it so that it said 492 00:28:58,440 --> 00:29:02,120 Speaker 1: that every girl is in perfect condition and then submitted 493 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:04,200 Speaker 1: it with the Drinker's name on it to the new 494 00:29:04,280 --> 00:29:08,760 Speaker 1: Jersey Labor Department UM and like the drinkers had no idea. 495 00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:11,200 Speaker 1: They also told the drinkers if they published their initial report, 496 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:14,960 Speaker 1: they would sue them that they've been working confidentially and UM, 497 00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:17,160 Speaker 1: like I was saying, like it was just that kind 498 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:20,320 Speaker 1: of company. They were just they would engage in dirty tricks. 499 00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:23,320 Speaker 1: They would do some of the most underhanded stuff you 500 00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:26,400 Speaker 1: can imagine, like they I've got one more anecdote, Chuck, 501 00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:29,200 Speaker 1: this is gonna knock your socks off. They hired a 502 00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:34,959 Speaker 1: UM industrial toxicologist named Frederick Flynn from Colombia to basically 503 00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:39,960 Speaker 1: pose as a doctor to examine one of the UM 504 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:44,239 Speaker 1: the dial painters UM and basically tell her that her 505 00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:47,440 Speaker 1: health was fine. She was in fine shape. And they 506 00:29:47,480 --> 00:29:50,760 Speaker 1: had a VP from U S. Di'll sit in and 507 00:29:50,840 --> 00:29:52,719 Speaker 1: make it seem like he was a colleague of this 508 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:55,840 Speaker 1: person who she thought was a doctor who emphatically agreed 509 00:29:55,880 --> 00:29:58,720 Speaker 1: and backed up his position. That's the kind of stuff 510 00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:05,120 Speaker 1: us dial did. Reprehensible, agreed, Chuck. All right, so we 511 00:30:05,160 --> 00:30:07,840 Speaker 1: should probably take another break and we'll talk about how 512 00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:33,640 Speaker 1: everything changed a little bit right after this. Alright, So 513 00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:38,480 Speaker 1: everything changed when a man got sick, and that's that's 514 00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:43,400 Speaker 1: basically the way it went. Ut six year old chemist 515 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:48,040 Speaker 1: at U s r C died of anemia and the 516 00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:52,720 Speaker 1: Essex County Health Examiner, guy little figure in pretty prominently 517 00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:57,520 Speaker 1: here going forward, Dr Harrison Martlin got involved and you 518 00:30:57,560 --> 00:30:59,200 Speaker 1: know this is this is what it took. It took 519 00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:02,600 Speaker 1: a man dying for them to sit up and pay attention. Um. 520 00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:06,920 Speaker 1: He launched an investigation. He it was. It was very sneaky. Actually, 521 00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:12,000 Speaker 1: he actually secretly recruited the technical director from U s 522 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:15,840 Speaker 1: r C as a radiation expert, and his name was 523 00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:17,840 Speaker 1: this is one of the best names we've ever said 524 00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:22,560 Speaker 1: on the show, Dr sabin A von Sakaki m hm. 525 00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:27,160 Speaker 1: And they took autopsied tissue from uh, some of the 526 00:31:27,160 --> 00:31:30,040 Speaker 1: bone from these young women who had died or I'm 527 00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:32,760 Speaker 1: sorry from the original chemists, and they analyzed it and 528 00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:37,560 Speaker 1: they said, yeah, he's he is basically glowing with radiation. Yeah. 529 00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:41,160 Speaker 1: I have to say also, um, Dr von so Chalky 530 00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:45,680 Speaker 1: or he Um was even more than just the technical director. 531 00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:48,800 Speaker 1: He was the co founder of US Radium and he 532 00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:52,200 Speaker 1: actually created the radium paint undark that the company used. 533 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:57,000 Speaker 1: So the idea of him basically turning on the company 534 00:31:57,120 --> 00:31:59,040 Speaker 1: in order to get to the to the bottom of 535 00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:02,400 Speaker 1: you know, what was going on. You know, I think 536 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:05,600 Speaker 1: that's pretty commendable in that sense. It is um he 537 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:10,480 Speaker 1: got he in March, Markland got a Geiger counter. I 538 00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:13,200 Speaker 1: think it was sort of an early crude version basically, 539 00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:16,160 Speaker 1: and they started going around to the houses and in 540 00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:19,840 Speaker 1: the hospitals where some of these young women were and 541 00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:23,840 Speaker 1: everything was radioactive. Um. They tested employees at the plant 542 00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:27,400 Speaker 1: that even weren't sick, they were radioactive. Basically, everyone that 543 00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:32,560 Speaker 1: worked there was radioactive, including uh Von Sakaki himself. He 544 00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:35,800 Speaker 1: breathed into the thing and I think he registered the 545 00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:39,600 Speaker 1: highest radioactive level of everybody and died within a few 546 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:44,320 Speaker 1: years from from jaw cancer. Yeah, at age forty. And 547 00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:46,959 Speaker 1: the from what I saw also, if you took a 548 00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:49,920 Speaker 1: Geiger counter to the grave site of um these people 549 00:32:49,960 --> 00:32:53,880 Speaker 1: who worked at these factories still today, the Geiger counter 550 00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:56,440 Speaker 1: would measure set off. It would be set off by 551 00:32:56,480 --> 00:33:00,640 Speaker 1: the radioactivity coming from six six ft of earth separating 552 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:03,880 Speaker 1: you and in the remains and that nuts, dude. It 553 00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:09,080 Speaker 1: will do that for one thousand years. Wow. And supposedly 554 00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:12,760 Speaker 1: the bodies are still glowing underground. I saw that one 555 00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:16,120 Speaker 1: woman who worked at another one we'll talk about um 556 00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:21,680 Speaker 1: Radium Dial company. She was exhumed to be examined UM 557 00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:24,800 Speaker 1: for I think a lawsuit later on, and they found 558 00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:27,520 Speaker 1: that she was so radioactive that when they reburied her, 559 00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:32,120 Speaker 1: they buried her in a leadline coffin. Yeah, I mean 560 00:33:32,160 --> 00:33:36,160 Speaker 1: this is super radioactive, right. I think we've established that 561 00:33:36,640 --> 00:33:39,680 Speaker 1: it's just hard to wrap your mind around how radioactive 562 00:33:39,720 --> 00:33:42,080 Speaker 1: these people were, and it's crazy that they even live. 563 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:45,200 Speaker 1: Some of them live for you know, a few more years, 564 00:33:45,240 --> 00:33:50,880 Speaker 1: like like um, Molly Magia, she died pretty quickly. The 565 00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:53,400 Speaker 1: woman whose jaw came out, she she died within a 566 00:33:53,400 --> 00:33:56,720 Speaker 1: couple of years. Some women lasted four or five, six, 567 00:33:56,800 --> 00:34:00,920 Speaker 1: even I think even seven years possibly. And the amount 568 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:03,160 Speaker 1: of radiation they were exposed to and the effects that 569 00:34:03,200 --> 00:34:05,640 Speaker 1: it had on their body made from the time they 570 00:34:05,640 --> 00:34:07,760 Speaker 1: got sick to the time they died just basically like 571 00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:11,359 Speaker 1: a living hell. Um and the fact that they're still 572 00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:14,359 Speaker 1: radioactive today it really kind of drives home like how 573 00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:17,960 Speaker 1: how painful that must have been for them, because apparently 574 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:21,480 Speaker 1: bone pain is not it's not like regular pain at all, 575 00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:24,120 Speaker 1: Like you know, if your muscle hurts or joint hurts, 576 00:34:24,120 --> 00:34:26,120 Speaker 1: you can just kind of like move your arm or 577 00:34:26,160 --> 00:34:28,839 Speaker 1: something and starts to feel a little bit better. With 578 00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:31,480 Speaker 1: bone pain, you can't do that. Nothing makes it feel better. 579 00:34:31,480 --> 00:34:34,680 Speaker 1: It's just like constant pain. Uh. And that's what you 580 00:34:34,719 --> 00:34:38,239 Speaker 1: get when you have radium in your bones. So five 581 00:34:38,280 --> 00:34:41,800 Speaker 1: of these women got together that we're still living obviously, 582 00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:44,759 Speaker 1: and went to court, or they didn't go to court 583 00:34:44,840 --> 00:34:46,640 Speaker 1: right away. It took a long time. It took a 584 00:34:46,680 --> 00:34:49,759 Speaker 1: long time for them to get enough money together to 585 00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:53,440 Speaker 1: hire attorneys because there wasn't anyone initially he would take 586 00:34:53,520 --> 00:34:56,600 Speaker 1: these cases pro bono um and so it took years 587 00:34:56,640 --> 00:35:00,200 Speaker 1: to raise the money to do this. And uh. One 588 00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:03,320 Speaker 1: of the woman's name was Grace Fryar. She was basically 589 00:35:03,400 --> 00:35:07,200 Speaker 1: the leader of the factory workers. And she had to 590 00:35:07,239 --> 00:35:10,080 Speaker 1: wear a back brace because her spine had basically rotted 591 00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:14,000 Speaker 1: out from the inside and was crushed. She had twenty 592 00:35:14,080 --> 00:35:18,160 Speaker 1: at least twenty surgeries on her jaw. Another woman's name 593 00:35:18,200 --> 00:35:23,760 Speaker 1: was Albina Larisse. She had to still bursts and couldn't walk. 594 00:35:24,560 --> 00:35:29,200 Speaker 1: Another woman was Katherine schalb Um. She I think her 595 00:35:29,239 --> 00:35:32,520 Speaker 1: cousin died was another fellow worker there. And so they 596 00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:35,799 Speaker 1: were like we have to do something here. Um. They 597 00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:38,400 Speaker 1: were you know, they had all these medical bills, they 598 00:35:38,400 --> 00:35:42,000 Speaker 1: couldn't even basically pay rent. And finally, after a couple 599 00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:45,120 Speaker 1: of years, managed to find an attorney who would take 600 00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:49,399 Speaker 1: it on pro bono, and um, you know they did. 601 00:35:49,520 --> 00:35:51,480 Speaker 1: They knew they didn't have long to live at this point, 602 00:35:51,760 --> 00:35:53,760 Speaker 1: and it's not like they wanted some windfall of money. 603 00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:56,319 Speaker 1: They just wanted to get by until they died, and 604 00:35:56,360 --> 00:36:00,600 Speaker 1: they wanted to make sure that this didn't happen again. Yeah, 605 00:36:00,640 --> 00:36:04,040 Speaker 1: and again. This is like new stuff basically where workers 606 00:36:04,080 --> 00:36:06,560 Speaker 1: are like, these were unsafe working conditions. We're gonna see 607 00:36:06,640 --> 00:36:11,480 Speaker 1: our employer. This is pretty like groundbreaking. So initially the 608 00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:15,080 Speaker 1: women asked for I think two fifty thou a piece 609 00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:19,680 Speaker 1: um each for all five of them and their lawyer, 610 00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:23,200 Speaker 1: UM Raymond Barry. He apparently was a really good lawyer 611 00:36:23,200 --> 00:36:26,040 Speaker 1: and really kind of fought the good fight for him. UM. 612 00:36:26,040 --> 00:36:29,160 Speaker 1: And one of the ways that they were ultimately successful, 613 00:36:29,200 --> 00:36:31,760 Speaker 1: because it's kind of an understatement to say that US 614 00:36:31,960 --> 00:36:36,239 Speaker 1: Radium fought this lawsuit rather than settling UM, was that 615 00:36:36,320 --> 00:36:40,720 Speaker 1: they recruited the press, basically, and in particular the editor 616 00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:42,840 Speaker 1: of the New York World, The guy named Walter Littman, 617 00:36:43,440 --> 00:36:47,040 Speaker 1: UM took up this cause, and like you know, at 618 00:36:47,040 --> 00:36:49,600 Speaker 1: the time in the New York newspapers were like the 619 00:36:49,640 --> 00:36:53,120 Speaker 1: most important media organizations in the world, and the New 620 00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:55,640 Speaker 1: York World was like one of the bigger ones. So 621 00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:58,680 Speaker 1: it was like, you know, it was having like all 622 00:36:58,719 --> 00:37:02,240 Speaker 1: of the twenty four hour networks on your side, drumming 623 00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:06,400 Speaker 1: up public support for your cause, and that really helped them. 624 00:37:06,440 --> 00:37:09,120 Speaker 1: But even in the end they didn't get anything even 625 00:37:09,160 --> 00:37:11,440 Speaker 1: remotely close to that quarter of a million they were 626 00:37:11,480 --> 00:37:15,320 Speaker 1: asking for. So what the Radium Corporation did at first 627 00:37:15,520 --> 00:37:18,839 Speaker 1: was they said, you know, in New Jersey, the law 628 00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:21,879 Speaker 1: says that we only have to pay you anything if 629 00:37:21,920 --> 00:37:25,520 Speaker 1: it's within the first two years of your exposure. And 630 00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:27,959 Speaker 1: because it took so long for them to raise this money, 631 00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:30,880 Speaker 1: it was beyond that point, which is just a pretty 632 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:34,600 Speaker 1: vile thing to do obviously. Um. Eventually they settled for 633 00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:38,560 Speaker 1: ten thousand dollars each plus five i'm sorry, six hundred 634 00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:41,920 Speaker 1: dollars a year for when they were alive, which was 635 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:43,799 Speaker 1: only a few years for each of them. I think 636 00:37:44,400 --> 00:37:47,600 Speaker 1: within five years all of them had passed away. Um. 637 00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:49,520 Speaker 1: It was later exposed that the judge in the case 638 00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:53,279 Speaker 1: was a stakeholder in U S r C. Which is 639 00:37:53,360 --> 00:37:57,839 Speaker 1: really pretty dirty obviously. Uh. And then I think by 640 00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:01,879 Speaker 1: fifty one UM, thirty years later, forty one of those 641 00:38:01,920 --> 00:38:06,759 Speaker 1: original painters had died from different cancers. Yeah, not a 642 00:38:06,840 --> 00:38:11,000 Speaker 1: single one of the original five litigants UM from the 643 00:38:11,440 --> 00:38:16,520 Speaker 1: lawsuit UM made it past age thirty eight. And that's 644 00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:19,520 Speaker 1: like you have, by the way, a point one percent 645 00:38:19,760 --> 00:38:24,080 Speaker 1: lifetime risk of developing bone cancer. Bone cancer is really rare, rare, 646 00:38:24,520 --> 00:38:26,360 Speaker 1: Like you can get cancer in your bones if you 647 00:38:26,400 --> 00:38:28,759 Speaker 1: have a different cancer that spreads to your bones. But 648 00:38:28,880 --> 00:38:31,279 Speaker 1: to start out with bone cancer like many of these 649 00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:35,040 Speaker 1: women did, it's incredibly rare. UM. So the idea of 650 00:38:35,320 --> 00:38:38,960 Speaker 1: a cluster of them all happening in this one factory 651 00:38:39,200 --> 00:38:42,160 Speaker 1: and the company having nothing to do with it was preposterous. 652 00:38:42,200 --> 00:38:44,560 Speaker 1: So the fact that they just got to settle for 653 00:38:44,680 --> 00:38:48,680 Speaker 1: ten thousand UM per woman was actually kind of a coup. 654 00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:52,880 Speaker 1: But one of the things that the UM five initial 655 00:38:52,920 --> 00:38:57,640 Speaker 1: five Radium girls were fighting for was to UM to 656 00:38:57,640 --> 00:39:00,000 Speaker 1: to create awareness that like, this is dangerous and there's 657 00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:01,880 Speaker 1: other other women out there in the country and in 658 00:39:01,920 --> 00:39:05,080 Speaker 1: the world who were doing the same thing. Eating radium 659 00:39:05,120 --> 00:39:07,239 Speaker 1: paint every day and we want this to stop. And 660 00:39:07,320 --> 00:39:10,120 Speaker 1: it actually did have that effect, that knock on effect, 661 00:39:10,120 --> 00:39:12,800 Speaker 1: and not one but chuck as you told me before, 662 00:39:12,960 --> 00:39:17,799 Speaker 1: to my estelment to other cases um where companies were 663 00:39:17,880 --> 00:39:21,880 Speaker 1: basically forced to to um to settle and eventually radium 664 00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:24,719 Speaker 1: paint was driven out of use. Yeah. The other one, 665 00:39:25,080 --> 00:39:26,759 Speaker 1: or one of the other two, was the radium Dial 666 00:39:26,880 --> 00:39:31,120 Speaker 1: factory that we mentioned earlier in Ottawa, Illinois. And you know, 667 00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:34,120 Speaker 1: I don't know if you can rank like which ones 668 00:39:34,560 --> 00:39:37,879 Speaker 1: were more gross and dirty and awful, but Radium Dial 669 00:39:38,320 --> 00:39:40,640 Speaker 1: they actually did know what was going on the whole time. 670 00:39:40,719 --> 00:39:44,839 Speaker 1: For years. They had been uh testing their employees. They 671 00:39:44,880 --> 00:39:47,600 Speaker 1: had doctors coming in and they were giving them annual 672 00:39:47,640 --> 00:39:51,040 Speaker 1: physicals and they were recording radiation levels and they just 673 00:39:51,120 --> 00:39:54,600 Speaker 1: never told them. Basically, I think before they went and 674 00:39:54,640 --> 00:39:59,600 Speaker 1: filed that lawsuit, they were just suppressing information. Bearing everything 675 00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:02,879 Speaker 1: they could. They did, they'd even did autopsies and then 676 00:40:02,920 --> 00:40:05,719 Speaker 1: tampered with those autopsies. I think that's what you were 677 00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:08,239 Speaker 1: mentioning earlier, was that the other company did that too, 678 00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:12,600 Speaker 1: And they also lucked out by having an amazing lawyer too. 679 00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:16,200 Speaker 1: They were led by two women Katherine Wolf Donahue and 680 00:40:16,440 --> 00:40:19,279 Speaker 1: Charlotte Nevans Purcel kind of took the lead for the 681 00:40:19,640 --> 00:40:23,799 Speaker 1: lawsuit against Um Radium dial And this is you know, 682 00:40:24,080 --> 00:40:26,759 Speaker 1: years after this had made like the national press, the 683 00:40:27,640 --> 00:40:31,359 Speaker 1: US radium lawsuit like it was, everybody was talking about it, 684 00:40:31,640 --> 00:40:34,440 Speaker 1: and for years some companies managed to avoid any kind 685 00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:39,480 Speaker 1: of culpability, and finally Donahue and UM and Purcell Um, 686 00:40:39,520 --> 00:40:42,760 Speaker 1: with the help of their lawyer, Leonard Grossman, filed lawsuit 687 00:40:42,840 --> 00:40:49,080 Speaker 1: against Radium dial Um. They tried some underhanded stuff themselves 688 00:40:49,440 --> 00:40:52,000 Speaker 1: in addition to the whole autopsy thing, but once they 689 00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:55,520 Speaker 1: were found out, they decided to shut down and then 690 00:40:55,600 --> 00:40:59,200 Speaker 1: reopen in New York as a different company. And they said, oh, yeah, 691 00:40:59,239 --> 00:41:01,920 Speaker 1: that other company is terrible, but it doesn't exist anymore. 692 00:41:01,960 --> 00:41:04,960 Speaker 1: We're a new company now, so forget that lawsuit. And 693 00:41:05,280 --> 00:41:10,879 Speaker 1: they were they were ruled against and were held accountable. Still. Yeah, 694 00:41:10,960 --> 00:41:13,799 Speaker 1: and obviously, like you mentioned, because of all of this, 695 00:41:15,080 --> 00:41:18,000 Speaker 1: it was a very big deal for this country as 696 00:41:18,080 --> 00:41:22,839 Speaker 1: far as work workers rights, safety in the workplace. UM. 697 00:41:22,880 --> 00:41:25,840 Speaker 1: It kind of directly led. It took a long time, 698 00:41:26,080 --> 00:41:28,880 Speaker 1: but it kind of directly led to the UM to 699 00:41:28,960 --> 00:41:32,080 Speaker 1: the forming of OSHA which was a big deal. I 700 00:41:32,120 --> 00:41:36,560 Speaker 1: think it directly led in to the food, drug and 701 00:41:36,600 --> 00:41:40,279 Speaker 1: cosmetic act um. And of course this was for the 702 00:41:40,320 --> 00:41:43,560 Speaker 1: public at large, so we weren't ingesting stuff like that 703 00:41:43,600 --> 00:41:46,319 Speaker 1: in our cosmetics. But it also protected workers who are 704 00:41:46,320 --> 00:41:49,840 Speaker 1: putting that stuff in the cosmetics years years after the 705 00:41:49,880 --> 00:41:52,839 Speaker 1: public was protected, for sure. But yeah, it definitely had 706 00:41:52,880 --> 00:41:55,640 Speaker 1: like a real, real impact and a real effect on 707 00:41:55,640 --> 00:41:57,879 Speaker 1: on the world. Um. One of the things I saw 708 00:41:57,920 --> 00:42:01,320 Speaker 1: though about Radium Dial Corporation its headquarters. It was finally 709 00:42:01,360 --> 00:42:06,600 Speaker 1: demolished in nineteen sixty eight in Ottawa, Illinois, and the 710 00:42:06,600 --> 00:42:12,560 Speaker 1: the town used the like rubble as backfill and landfill 711 00:42:12,680 --> 00:42:17,319 Speaker 1: around the town. So now there's sixteen radioactive super fun 712 00:42:17,400 --> 00:42:21,400 Speaker 1: sites around poor little Ottawa, Illinois. Um that the e 713 00:42:21,480 --> 00:42:24,160 Speaker 1: p A Is dealing with cleaning up and it's causing 714 00:42:24,160 --> 00:42:27,239 Speaker 1: all sorts of problems for them for the residents of 715 00:42:27,239 --> 00:42:29,320 Speaker 1: the town. So it was like this one big problem 716 00:42:29,480 --> 00:42:31,520 Speaker 1: and then they spread it out all over town when 717 00:42:31,840 --> 00:42:36,959 Speaker 1: they used the rubble, You're not super fun super fun 718 00:42:37,960 --> 00:42:40,200 Speaker 1: is that there's a really important D on the end 719 00:42:40,239 --> 00:42:44,160 Speaker 1: of that, and it really overpronounced that d agreed. Do 720 00:42:44,200 --> 00:42:47,080 Speaker 1: you got anything else about the Radium girls. I don't. 721 00:42:47,160 --> 00:42:49,480 Speaker 1: I mean the movies on Netflix. You can check it out. 722 00:42:49,560 --> 00:42:52,959 Speaker 1: It's uh, it's a little late to endorse it now. Well, 723 00:42:53,000 --> 00:42:55,240 Speaker 1: I mean it's not terrible. I think on Rotten Tomatoes 724 00:42:55,239 --> 00:42:59,040 Speaker 1: that have like a seventy something, but it just critically 725 00:42:59,280 --> 00:43:03,239 Speaker 1: wasn't what review in um also not by me? Nice see, 726 00:43:03,280 --> 00:43:06,200 Speaker 1: I guess you. Um. Well, since Chuck said also not 727 00:43:06,320 --> 00:43:08,680 Speaker 1: by me, of course everyone, that means it's time for 728 00:43:08,800 --> 00:43:16,160 Speaker 1: listener mayo. I'm gonna call this a Nashvillian's response to 729 00:43:16,200 --> 00:43:19,120 Speaker 1: the Grand ol Opry Show. Hey, guys, just want to 730 00:43:19,120 --> 00:43:20,800 Speaker 1: give you a shout out about how much this native 731 00:43:20,880 --> 00:43:23,920 Speaker 1: Nashvillian enjoyed your episode about the Grand ole Opry. I 732 00:43:23,920 --> 00:43:28,040 Speaker 1: grew up hearing about the rieman's perfect acoustics and stories 733 00:43:28,080 --> 00:43:31,360 Speaker 1: of country stars drinking at Tutsie's bar behind the opera 734 00:43:31,440 --> 00:43:33,880 Speaker 1: until it was time to go on stage, and running 735 00:43:33,880 --> 00:43:36,960 Speaker 1: through the aligning back doors. My first job was actually 736 00:43:37,000 --> 00:43:39,759 Speaker 1: at opery Land Theme Park. Oh wow, I wonder if 737 00:43:39,760 --> 00:43:42,759 Speaker 1: we met. It was at the water ride in the 738 00:43:42,760 --> 00:43:47,080 Speaker 1: flume Zoom. I think I do remember you, Camille. Immediately 739 00:43:47,120 --> 00:43:50,160 Speaker 1: across us was the Porter Wagner stage that Mr Wagner 740 00:43:50,200 --> 00:43:53,280 Speaker 1: himself performed every Friday and now live in Chicago. And honestly, 741 00:43:53,320 --> 00:43:56,000 Speaker 1: it's a little hard to visit Nashville since it's become 742 00:43:56,040 --> 00:44:00,600 Speaker 1: a destination hotspot for bachelor and bachelorette parties. I didn't 743 00:44:00,640 --> 00:44:03,160 Speaker 1: know that, did you know? Didn't either? No, it makes 744 00:44:03,200 --> 00:44:05,040 Speaker 1: sense though, I mean, I know that's where you had 745 00:44:05,080 --> 00:44:10,720 Speaker 1: your bachelor party. I'll never forget that night. Sure, Nashville, 746 00:44:10,800 --> 00:44:15,320 Speaker 1: it's crazy. Uh. Plus, skyrocketing rents and new developments have 747 00:44:15,400 --> 00:44:18,120 Speaker 1: pushed out a lot of locals and mom and pop businesses. 748 00:44:18,520 --> 00:44:23,880 Speaker 1: Future episode recommendation repercussions of being an it city, but 749 00:44:23,960 --> 00:44:25,879 Speaker 1: listening to your episode reminded me of the quirky little 750 00:44:25,920 --> 00:44:27,919 Speaker 1: city I grew up in. Plus I learned some cool 751 00:44:27,960 --> 00:44:30,640 Speaker 1: facts about the opera I didn't know a longtime fan, 752 00:44:30,840 --> 00:44:36,160 Speaker 1: that is Camille McCarthy as high praise coming from a 753 00:44:36,480 --> 00:44:40,360 Speaker 1: o G nashvilleon you know Yeah. And Camille also responded 754 00:44:40,400 --> 00:44:41,720 Speaker 1: when I told her it was gonna be a listener 755 00:44:41,760 --> 00:44:44,560 Speaker 1: mail with a big woohoo. You guys are awesome. I 756 00:44:44,680 --> 00:44:51,000 Speaker 1: just snucked out your Venus episode while grocery shopping. Fantastic. Um, Well, 757 00:44:51,040 --> 00:44:53,279 Speaker 1: thanks a lot, Camille, appreciate that. I hope you've got 758 00:44:53,320 --> 00:44:55,960 Speaker 1: some good groceries. I hope you wore a mask while 759 00:44:55,960 --> 00:44:59,759 Speaker 1: you want grocery shopping. And I hope you're vaccinated. Nice 760 00:44:59,800 --> 00:45:03,000 Speaker 1: full circle there. Yeah. If you want to get in 761 00:45:03,040 --> 00:45:08,440 Speaker 1: touch with me, Chuck, Jerry, Chuck's COVID whatever, you can 762 00:45:08,480 --> 00:45:11,760 Speaker 1: write us all an email to stuff podcast at iHeart 763 00:45:11,840 --> 00:45:17,480 Speaker 1: radio dot com. Stuff you Should Know is a production 764 00:45:17,520 --> 00:45:20,480 Speaker 1: of I heart Radio. For more podcasts my heart Radio, 765 00:45:20,680 --> 00:45:23,680 Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 766 00:45:23,719 --> 00:45:25,160 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.