Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s 'Shining Women'

Unpack the tragic story of America’s “Radium Girls.” In 1898 in Paris, France, Marie and Pierre Curie discover the element radium. Marie calls it “my beautiful radium” and asks what could it not do, implying almost a kind of sorcery and supernatural power. Revisit the discovery and the use of radium in making watch and clock dials. Find out the terrible effects it had on the “Radium Girls,” first in New York City, and later in Ottawa, Illinois, and what became of the company. Applaud how doctors played a vital role in discovering radium's deadly effect and moved to treat the workers.