The Energy In Energy Drinks Used To Be Radiation

January 23, 2017 in Daily Bulletin

Timothy J. Jorgensen delved into the weird history of energy drinks:

  • Today’s energy drinks provide energy through chemical stimulants like caffeine.
  • In the past though they provided actual energy. RadiThor was radium (a radioactive element which releases radiation) dissolved in water sold in the 1920s.
  • This energy is, despite what The Hulk would have you believe, entirely useless at providing an energy boost to human beings.
  • The dangers of radium were well known at the time. On the other hand a study had shown that Radithor increased “the sexual passion of water newts”. It was a successful product.
  • Fortunately, radium is expensive, limiting the number of people who could afford it, and thus the number of people who suffered radiation sickness.
  • Its chief celebrity endorser developed a psychological addiction to the drink, and died from radiation related complications.
  • His radioactive skeleton is buried in a lead-lined coffin.

Read more on Live Science.

Via: Reddit