The Radium Ore Revigator was a pseudoscientific medical device consisting of a ceramic water crock lined with radioactive materials. It was patented in 1912 by R. W. Thomas, an invalid in California[1], and manufactured by the Radium Ore Revigator Co., which sold thousands of the devices in the 1920s and '30s.
The Revigator was intended to be filled with water overnight, which would be irradiated by the uranium and radium in the liner, and then consumed the next day. This was marketed as a healthy practice which could prevent illnesses including arthritis, flatulence, and senility.
The Revigator contained carnotite K2(UO2)2(VO4)2·3H2O. Water stored ovenight in a vintage Revigator was analyzed by ICP/MS and radiation detectors. Although the water contained higher levels of radon, the health risk from radiation was low. But the water also contained arsenic, lead, vanadium, and uranium...
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