Timepieces with a Toxic Touch
Radium-painted watch and clock dials.
To make watch faces glow in the dark, manufacturers used paint infused with radium, a highly radioactive element. The factory workers, known as the 'Radium Girls,' were instructed to lick their brushes to maintain a fine point, ingesting deadly amounts of radium. Their tragic story exposed the dangers of radioactivity and led to major labor safety reforms, but not before this glowing poison ruined countless lives.