Heard it through the Grapevine

Take a Shower and Then Die?

It could cure ulcerations and diseases of the skin, possibly forever

Edited by Ralph Finch

Selling last year by AA Auctions of England was a pot lid imprinted “DOCTOR SHOWER’S RADIUM SALVE.” Lot 13 was described as “a very unusual small 2 inch lid with original base that comes in green and red print and stated it was for ‘all kinds of ulcerations and diseases of the skin’ including ‘cancerous growths!’ Scarce and very desirable, especially with original base.”

Hmmmm. Radium shower? Use that and perhaps after your shower your skin will really glow?

The 1880-90 pot lid was in excellent condition, “just an old tiny pinhead glaze flake on the back of the rim (barely worth mentioning) and just a few tiny in-manufacture marks and indentations (all under the glaze and nothing at all untoward).”

The base “looks to be original, with just a very small flake on the top of the rim which is completely hidden when lid on top. Both top and base have traces of a fatty substance in the glaze, presumably from the oil atum which it originally contained. Estimate: £80-100, with no reserve. It sold for £155 ($220) with 26 bids (plus a 15 percent buyer’s premium).

FYI: According toWikipedia and other sites: “Radium was discovered by Marie Sklodowska-Curie and her husband Pierre Curie on Dec. 21, 1898. Radium was once an additive in products such as toothpaste, hair creams, and even food items due to its supposed curative powers. Such products soon fell out of vogue and were prohibited by authorities in many countries after it was discovered they could have serious adverse health effects. Spas featuring radium-rich water are still occasionally touted as beneficial in Japan. In the U.S., nasal radium irradiation was also administered to children to prevent middle-ear problems or enlarged tonsils from the late 1940s through the early 1970s.

Radium (usually in the form of radium chloride or radium bromide) was used in medicine to produce radon gas which in turn was used as a cancer treatment. For example, several of these radon sources were used in Canada in the 1920s and

1930s. However, many treatments that were used in the early 1900s are not used anymore because of the harmful effects radium bromide exposure caused. Some examples of these effects are anaemia, cancer, and genetic mutations.

Radium cures reached their pinnacle of popularity in the U.S. during the 1920s, promising to remedy many diseases, restore youthful vigor, and revitalize an ailing sex life.

Fiestaware? In 1943, when the U.S. was developing the atomic bomb, the government was surprised to learn that a pottery maker was buying significant amounts of uranium! The glaze in red fiestaware made prior to 1943 contains small amounts of radioactive material.

Early in the 1900s, biologists used radium to induce mutations and study genetics. As early as 1904, Daniel MacDougal used radium in an attempt to determine whether it could provoke sudden large mutations and cause major evolutionary shifts. Thomas Hunt Morgan used radium to induce changes resulting in white-eyed fruit flies. Nobel-winning biologist Hermann Muller briefly studied the effects of radium on fruit fly mutations before turning to more affordable x-ray experiments.

Radium was used in the production of toothpaste and wristwatches and was thought to be curative until researchers discovered that intense radioactivity had adverse effects on health. It is the sixth element of the alkaline earth metals with atomic number 88 and symbol Ra.

Mrs. Curie, the first woman to win the Nobel Prize, died in 1934 from its use. She was known to carry test tubes of radium around in the pocket of her lab coat. It was a slow and painful death. And such a changing world. She died from the “new-world radium,” while her scientist husband died in 1906 in Paris, after stepping in front of a horse-drawn wagon.

Radon is a radioactive gas that results from the natural decay of uranium and radium found in nearly all rocks and soils. Elevated radon levels have been found in every state. Breathing radon over time increases your risk of lung cancer. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. Nationally, the EPA estimates that about 21,000 people die each year from radon-related lung cancer. Only smoking causes more lung cancer deaths. Make sure to get your home tested for radon! There are do-it-yourself home test kits available.

Heard it through the Grapevine

Batsto Revs Back!

Another welcome sign for the hobby

Mark your calendars for Sunday, Sept. 19. The BatstoVillage Antique Bottle and Classic Car Show is back! This popular annual event takes place at the historic Batsto Village, WhartonStateForest, Hammonton, N.J.

Several years ago, the Batsto Citizens Committee (BCCI) joined with the Cruisin’ Classic Car group to create a combined event that has become a tremendous success. It seemed that a show with antique and classic cars should have something else for visitors to enjoy.What better than antiques? Being held in the heart of Wharton Forest at BatstoVillage, where glass and bottles were produced after the iron industry financially could not survive, also seemed appropriate. Iron is no longer produced at Batsto Village. The idea of the British coming up the river to end the production of shot and cannonball at theVillage no longer exists. But the history of such can be seen at the monument at Chestnut Neck.

In addition, this is a great opportunity to walk around and remember some history. The history of the Colonies before America was America can be enjoyed. Also some of the more recent history of toys without batteries, tin toys not plastic, records that were analog and not digital sounds on your phone, bottles that were returned for 2 or 5 cents, not throw-away plastic. There will also be food trucks!

It is a rain-or-shine event, but let’s hope for sunshine Sept. 19 at Historic Batsto Village from 9 to 3. For more information, contact Jim Hammell: 856.217.4945; Email: hammelljm@gmail.com

World’s LongestYard Sale A whole lot of fun - and bottles!

by Jay Kasper

I wanted to comment on what is billed as “TheWorld’s LongestYard Sale.” It stretches from Michigan to Alabama, and takes place on August 5 - 8. Stop by our sale inWest Manchester, Ohio (4 miles north of IH-70).We’ll have antique bottles, including 700+ Hutchinsons from Ohio, Illinois and Indiana. Also, bitters, medicines, poisons, inks and more. Plus postcards, sports cards, vintage Christmas and holiday collectibles, beer and soda signs, glassware.Watch for signs! It is always a great time. Jay Kasper, text: 361-649-8221; email:jamast@att.net

Remember: Advertising doesn’t cost, IT PAYS!

A display ad this size costs only $30.00 for one month.What are you waiting for? Call us today!