Eben Byers was a wealthy American socialite,
and well regarded amatuer golfer, But he's
best known as the man who died from drinking
radioactive energy drink.
After Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium
in 1898 people tried to find uses for it.
At the time people believed in the healing
power of hot springs. When it was discovered
that the hot springs contained small amounts
of Radioactive radon gas, some people assumed
it was the radiation that gave the hot springs
their supposed healing powers. This lead to
medical quacks advertising radioactive substances
in anything from face cream to toothpaste.
Our golfing friend Eben Byers was prescribed
one of these products in 1927 after hurting
his arm in an accident. Radithor was a healing
tonic consisting of radium dissolved in water.
By this time it should have been clear that
radiation was dangerous. The radium girls,
a group of factory workers who painted radioactive
glow in the dark paint onto clock parts were
already trying to sue their employers because
they hadn't been adequately protected against
radiation poisoning.
Byers was convinced the drink improved his
arm and was so convinced of its health benefits
that he continued drinking 2 or 3 bottles
a day even after his arm was better.
By the time he stopped taking radithor in
1930 Byers had accumulated a large amount
of radium in his bones leading to his teeth
falling out, the loss of most of his jaw,
parts of his skull and parts of his brain.
He died in 1932 and was buried in a lead lined
coffin.
Byers body was exhumed 33 years later and
his bones were still radioactive. Radium has
a half life of 1600 years, so his bones will
remain radioactive for a very long time to come.
