The story of the Radium Girls, who exposed the dangers of radioactive paint

Radioactivity was accidentally discovered when uranium left marks on photographic plates

In 1896, Henri Becquerel had been exploring phosphorescence—the emission of light of one color after an object is exposed to another color. He expected these emissions to come from objects exposed to sunlight, but he observed emissions after an overcast day.

The Curies were buried in lead-lined coffins to contain their radioactive bodies

Their discoveries of polonium and radium involved ongoing exposure to radioactive materials before shielding technology was developed. Their notebooks, furniture, and other belongings remain radioactive today, requiring researchers to sign a waiver and wear protective clothing to access.

Although they rely on radioactive elements to operate, everyday technologies such as electronic exit signs, some wristwatches, and smoke detectors are not dangerous, unless they are damaged and their radioactive material is inhaled or swallowed.

Marie Curie pioneered radioactivity research, for which she won two Nobel Prizes

Marie Curie and her husband isolated polonium and radium despite poor lab conditions and financial hardship. President Harding, on behalf of the women of America, presented her with one gram of radium in 1921 in recognition of her service to science.

Where radon comes from and why it may be the most dangerous source of radioactivity

Released from underground bedrock before passing through soil, this radioactive gas is produced from the decay of uranium, thorium, and radium and accounts for about half of all human exposure to radiation. It is the leading cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers and can build up in enclosed spaces such as buildings without proper ventilation to dilute the gas.

Items in the Curie Museum do not produce significant radioactivity today

Ionizing radiation produced by elements such as uranium, polonium, and radium can damage living things, but the trace amounts found in the museum objects that Marie Curie once touched have been largely decontaminated, with more dangerous items stored in protective, lead-lined containers.

Marie Curie's work with radioactive materials left traces on her furniture and notes

Some of Marie Curie's family heirlooms were radioactive and destroyed. Marie and Pierre Curie are entombed in lead coffins to block radiation.

Learn about the applications of radioactivity in medical, academic, and industrial settings

Besides their use for radiometric dating by archaeologists and researchers at museums and universities, radioactive materials are used in sensors that help track ocean currents and analyze pollution, soil, and petroleum products. Radioisotope-based sensors also help measure air in ice cream and prevent spillovers when soda bottles are filled in factories.

In 1880, Jacques and Pierre Curie discovered that electricity could be produced by striking certain materials—the piezoelectric effect—a phenomenon that is seen in barbecue lighters.

As of 2026, the majority of US states have unsafe radon exposure levels

Alaska, South Dakota, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Washington top the list of states with exposure levels above 4 picocuries per liter for this naturally occurring radioactive gas. While these state-level averages vary from one county, municipality, and home to another, the EPA encourages those in the highest-risk states to test their homes.

Marie Curie's research in radioactivity made her the first woman to win a Nobel Prize

Overcoming social and academic barriers, Curie's realization that radiation resulted from an intrinsic property of atoms reframed scientific understanding of the phenomenon. Her subsequent work in discovering two new elements—polonium and radium—earned her a second Nobel Prize.

The Curies developed a way to measure radioactivity in an old medical dissecting room

Despite lacking proper laboratory conditions, Marie and Pierre built an ionization chamber and a piezoelectric quartz electrometer to measure the amount of charged particles released by radiation, with a sensitivity of ten-trillionth of an ampere. Substances with different emission rates indicated different elements.

Why it's so hard to end the use of toxic lead

Lead was one of the earliest metals mined on Earth, desired for its soft malleability and used in cosmetics, pipework, gasoline, and more. But even though researchers demonstrated its toxicity in the 20th century, much of the world still uses it.

Learn about ionizing radiation and see the most radioactive places on Earth

The average person is exposed to radiation every day, though most of it is either harmless non-ionizing radiation or ionizing radiation at doses too small to significantly affect an individual. The highest doses of ionizing radiation are received by smokers due to the radioactive polonium and radioactive lead in tobacco products.

Marie Curie's daughter Irene discovered artificial radioactivity

The discovery continued the family's Nobel legacy by winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935 alongside her husband, Frederic Joliot. Their work laid the foundation for the use of radioisotopes in medicine, agriculture, and energy production.

Listen to how the 1902 'poison squad' experiments changed food safety in America

As part of government research, a group of young men were paid to eat standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—which revealed the dangers of unregulated food. The work was led by the first FDA commissioner, Harvey Wiley, who helped end the "century of the great stomachache."

Listen to a reporter discuss his story spotlighting a decadeslong corporate cover-up about forever chemicals, substances, which can persist in the environment for hundreds of years—though not forever.

Marie Curie developed and trained women to operate mobile X-ray units in World War I

The “petites Curies” allowed medical professionals to identify the severity of wounds without transporting soldiers to medical facilities, expediting treatment and saving lives. The efforts of Curie and other women led to expansions in their rights after the war.

The 'Penicillin Girls' made mass production possible

In Oxford during the early 1940s, six female technicians—later dubbed the “Penicillin Girls”—worked long hours tending mold cultures and extracting tiny amounts of penicillin.

Mining of rare earth elements risks leaking radioactive wastewater

The extraction and processing of REEs requires significant amounts of water, and poorly regulated projects can contaminate groundwater with acids and heavy metals. Toxic waste spills have paused work in several US mines since the 1980s, despite growing REE demand.

The Love Canal disaster exposed the dangers of buried toxic waste

In the late 1970s, residents of Niagara Falls, New York, discovered their neighborhood was built atop 20,000 tons of chemical waste. Leaking toxins caused illness and birth defects, sparking nationwide outrage and leading to the creation of the EPA's Superfund cleanup program in 1980.

The pharmaceutical industry evolved, in part, from the discovery of synthetic dyes

In 1856, a chemist accidentally discovered mauveine, the world's first synthetic dye, while trying to make quinine to treat malaria. The synthetic dyes that followed helped reveal germs under microscopes, paving the way for modern imaging techniques and breakthrough treatments, such as antibiotics.

How a government chemist founded the FDA—by poisoning people

The Poison Squad tells the story of government chemist Dr. Harvey Wiley who, determined to banish these dangerous substances from dinner tables, took on the powerful food manufacturers and their allies.

The history of iconic pigments used in seven famous paintings

While art paints can be bought by the bucket at any craft store today, pigments throughout history have been difficult to come by. Art historian Kelly Grovier traces the fascinating history of pigments that make up hidden layers in masterpieces from Picasso and Hokusai’s Prussian Blue to Vermeer’s shade of red.

Chromium contaminants in a ruby crystal gave the world's first laser its red color

The red light originates from a long-lasting excited electron state in the element's atomic structure. The brittle gray metal has historically been used in pigment production, the manufacturing of rust-resistant stainless steel, and the creation of durable coatings with long-lasting shine for metals, wood, and leather.

How radioactive isotopes are created and used for medical diagnostics

In particle accelerators, protons can be accelerated into other atoms to create radioactive isotopes, which can be attached to specific molecules to create radiotracers that are taken up by specific cells. Radiotracers can emit particles that produce light once they collide with an electron, and this light can be captured by a PET scanner to diagnose specific ailments.

Misleading measurements and fear-based reporting often exaggerate radiation risks

Daily exposure to radioactivity is common but occurs in low doses outside of locations near nuclear accidents like Chernobyl and Fukushima. Researchers have detected radiation in tuna, bananas, and the human body due to increasing instrumental sensitivity, not rising concentrations.

The surprising science behind Pop Rocks

Have you ever wondered why Pop Rocks makes tiny explosions in your mouth? Well, there's actually pressurized carbon dioxide bubbles trapped within the sugary candy. This 19-second video shows you what Pop Rocks look like under a microscope.

During the French Revolution, a botanist's letter asking about "dear Rhus" (poison ivy) was intercepted and led to authorities' suspicions he was conspiring with the Russians.

Pollution from lead battery recycling has led to widespread contamination

Many small-scale operations worldwide remain unregulated, bypassing environmental regulations and causing increasing health threats, primarily to children. A 2020 report by UNICEF found that one-third of the world's children are being poisoned by lead from recycled batteries, among other sources.

Blacklights can illuminate certain biological materials, including blood, teeth, and fingernails, because they contain fluorophores—molecules that visibly glow immediately after exposure to higher-energy light.

Pierre Curie's knowledge of electromagnetism helped decipher radioactivity

Alongside his brother, he studied electric fields in crystals and the magnetic properties of substances, which required the construction of delicate electrometers. He would use this apparatus with Marie Curie to measure radioactive emissions and the presence of undiscovered radioactive elements.

Explore illustrative depictions of Chernobyl in comic books

Pieces related to the location since the nuclear disaster have told stories about radioactive vampires and monsters, accounts of bureaucratic corruption and creed, and visual retellings of experiences those in the region lived through before and after the event.

More than 500,000 people worked to contain Chernobyl's fallout, many with very little radiation protection.

Exposure to ionizing radiation from nuclear accidents can damage DNA

The damage can increase the risks of cancer, cataracts, heart disease, and other illnesses based on exposure times and intensities. Contaminated food, water, air, or soil from near nuclear accidents can further prolong one's exposure.

The story of the Manhattan Project's unused demon core

A 3-inch, 14-pound sphere of nuclear reactive plutonium-gallium was set to be delivered to the Pacific Theater in 1945 to become the third atomic bomb dropped over Japan. When Japan surrendered, it was returned to Los Alamos in New Mexico for experiment, where two scientists would die testing whether the core could reach criticality—where it would release intense energy—via the use of a dense reflector. Watch the story here.

In 1951, a small French town was likely overtaken by the fungus that ultimately led to LSD.

Symptoms of extreme radiation exposure may take hours to manifest

Large doses of ionizing radiation can damage the body within minutes, particularly in the bone marrow and inner layer of the digestive tract. Victims may briefly seem fine before rapidly deteriorating as immune failure, infection and organ collapse set in.

Women's wartime suit features silk dyed with CRISPR-modified bacteria

Anna Dumitriu's bioart piece was created to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the first use of penicillin in a human patient and intends to raise awareness about the rapid development of antibiotic-resistant pathogens by using bacteria that have essentially been transformed into their pre-antibiotic era state.

Estée Lauder used wealthy people's bathrooms to curate the color of the jars her products were sold in

While Lauder herself was just starting her cosmetics empire, she knew wealthy people who could afford high-quality products would always be her target market. In order to make her products as appealing to this market as possible, Lauder held up different colors of glass bottles in people's bathrooms to see what would look best with their decorations before landing on a turquoise bottle with a gold cap.

The history of chemistry up to World War I, from alchemists seeking gold to probing atomic structure

Those involved in the predecessor of the modern scientific discipline engaged in experimentation to develop recipes that would transform ordinary matter into gold and to create medicines, cosmetics, dyes, and alloys. Over the course of centuries, scientists identified unique elements, organized them based on their properties in the periodic table, and eventually developed the technology to discover the internal structure of atoms.

How spoiled meat helped uncover a bacterium that can survive the vacuum of space

When a can of ground beef and pork spoiled despite attempts to sterilize it with gamma radiation, researcher Arthur Anderson isolated the bacteria in the food and discovered Deinococcus radiodurans. The polyextremophile has since been found on the walls of nuclear reactors and overcomes radiation damage through highly optimized DNA repair mechanisms.

Scientists can determine the age of rocks, fossils, and other ancient samples by measuring how many radioactive atoms in the sample have decayed, a process that occurs at precise, well-known rates.

Solutions of bioluminescent bacteria can create FOMO-inducing living art

A 2002 exhibition at Montana State University-Bozeman placed the bacteria onto petri dishes that served as macroscopic pixels to create images. Once the bacteria finished eating all the food in the sealed dishes, the light slowly faded away, ending the exhibit.

How did ancient cave painters manage to see what they were doing?

As ancient artists made their way deep into caves and created massive works of art that continue to inspire awe today, they would've required light sources to see what they were doing. This gallery details some of the light sources that cave artists...

Explore r/ColorizedHistory, a Reddit community that collects colorized versions of black-and-white historical photographs, from Olympic podiums to family portraits.

Learn about the 'Goldilocks' of radioisotopes, which can help attack hard-to-treat cancers

Actinium-225 can be attached to a molecule that binds to cancer antigens, helping it target specific cancers in the body. It emits alpha particles that can damage DNA but do not penetrate deeply, confining the damage to nearby cancer cells. However, annual global production of actinium-225 is less than a grain of sand.

Oxford scientists turned Fleming’s mold discovery into medicine

In 1939, a team at Oxford—including Howard Florey, Ernst Chain, and Norman Heatley—revived Fleming’s forgotten discovery. Using makeshift equipment like bedpans and milk churns, they purified enough penicillin to prove it could treat deadly infections.

Some North American bats can glow in the dark

After examining 60 museum specimens from six different species, scientists found that all of them emitted light after being exposed to ultraviolet radiation. Researchers are perplexed by this natural phenomenon and are currently unable to deduce the reason behind it.

A family's yearslong poisoning

Over 14 years, a southern Indian family slowly lost six members, several of whom were found foaming at their mouths. Upon the third death, a post-mortem examination was requested, revealing cyanide had been ingested, though it was ruled as self-inflicted. Several will edits and three deaths later, relatives turned a critical eye toward Joliyamma "Jolly" Joseph, who had married into the family and been present at each death.