![]() Now, a century later, this story is revenant! There are a number of other books recently published on this subject, and of course there is the 2020 movie. Since my mother was beginning her art studies at the same time as the plight of the “Radium Girls” was big in the news, the story was doubtless pivotal for her. ![]() Although twirling the brush between the lips was an unsurpassed way of achieving a nice, sharp point, it could be hazardous to your health. This was a “cautionary tale” as I began to be interested in painting myself even non-radioactive paint could be poisonous. I remember my mother, who was an artist (but never a dial-painter) describing the horrific story of the radium poisoning that resulted because these workers had dipped their brushes in the radioactive paint and then “tipped” them with their lips. The story of the women who painted luminous dials with radium paint in the 1920’s and thereafter is of course well-known. Perhaps to start I will say that this excellent documentary is a magnificent example of synchronicity – the idea that our Universe (or the Creator thereof) manages both Chronos and Kairos – “clock time” and “quantum time” in mysterious and marvelous ways. Very well-researched, and a narration of something that should have never happened.Īs I begin my review of “The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women” by Kate Moore, it is almost difficult to harness my thoughts in an appropriate fashion. They knew they would not live long lives and some of them decided to fight those moguls and corporations and try to get some compensation that would help with their medical expenses or their children who would soon be orphans. They started losing their teeth and jaws, suffered terrible pains, and lived painful and crippling lives. The result was that many young women were fatally affected in terrible ways. ![]() Even when it was hinted that it was harmful, the factory owners and bosses made whatever it took to dispel these concerns. Radium was a new element and at first, nobody knew how harmful it would be. There was a great need for women workers, who had to dip their brushes in the pain, lick them to shape them and then paint the dials carefully. Everybody was thrilled with these new gadgets that would be so important in the war. This is a book that tells us the true story of many unfortunate women who worked in factories in times of the First World War painting clocks and dials with a novel luminous substance that contained radium. Their courage and tenacity led to life-changing regulations, research into nuclear bombing, and ultimately saved hundreds of thousands of lives. Written with a sparkling voice and breakneck pace, The Radium Girls fully illuminates the inspiring young women exposed to the "wonder" substance of radium, and their awe-inspiring strength in the face of almost impossible circumstances. And as the fatal poison of the radium takes hold, the brave shining girls find themselves embroiled in one of the biggest scandals of America's early 20th century, and in a groundbreaking battle for workers' rights that will echo for centuries to come. With such a coveted job, these "shining girls" are the luckiest alive ― until they begin to fall mysteriously ill.īut the factories that once offered golden opportunities are now ignoring all claims of the gruesome side effects, and the women's cries of corruption. The glittering chemical covers their bodies from head to toe they light up the night like industrious fireflies. Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil amidst the glowing dust of the radium-dial factories. From body lotion to tonic water, the popular new element shines bright in the otherwise dark years of the First World War. The Curies' newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines across the nation as the fresh face of beauty, and wonder drug of the medical community. The incredible true story of the women who fought America's Undark danger ![]() " the glowing ghosts of the radium girls haunt us still. A New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Charts Bestseller! Emma Watson's Our Shared Shelf Bookclub Selection - May/June 2018
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