The Surprising and Alarming History of Radium Watches

Forget lead paint; what about radium paint?

Grant Piper
6 min read3 days ago
(By Ad from the Perry County Republican (Perryville, MO), Nov. 22, 1917, p. 2., Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=70961149)

The ability to be able to read a clock in the dark has been a part of the timekeeping industry for over a century. As electric lights became more common, the ability to know what time it was after the sun went down became more important. But there was no good way to illuminate a clock face in the late 19th century. Clocks on the wall or standing in darkened corners were often out of the glow of nearby candles or lights. Pocket watches could only be read if you walked over to a candle and pulled it out in the light. It was inconvenient.

Electric lights were not small enough to be fitted to watches or clocks. A candle could not be fitted to a clock in a way that was safe or easy to use. It seemed like a problem that would have to wait for new technology. But then, in 1898, a new element called radium was discovered, and radium had a very surprising and delightful effect. It was luminescent.

(By Arma95 — Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9502650)

It didn’t take long until radium was being placed into paint to create things that glowed in the dark. The ability for something to glow in the dark in 1900 was space age. It was…

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Grant Piper
Grant Piper

Written by Grant Piper

Professional writer. Amateur historian. Husband, father, Christian.

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