The Man Whose Jaw Was Severed Because Of The Radioactive Drink He Drank Years Ago: Eben Byers

Although we discovered radiation at the beginning of the last century, we couldn’t figure out how it worked. At that time, many people suffered very serious injuries or died due to radioactive substances used unconsciously.

The world’s first antibiotic was used by the peoples of Ancient Egypt, although they did not know what the antibiotic was or what it worked. The ancient Egyptian people, who printed moldy bread on the wound so that the wounds would not get infected with germs, knew that the method worked, even though they did not know about antibiotics.

After thousands of years, humanity has discovered some “bright and fun” elements. They continued to use these elements because of their practical benefits, just like the peoples of Ancient Egypt, who did not know how moldy bread worked. These were radioactive elements with the name given by Marie Curie.

Don’t get Hulk from too much radioactivity

Although in comics, radioactive spiders are characters who turn into superheroes for reasons such as excess gamma radiation, in reality, you either get cancer or die from excess radiation. At low doses, but the effects of constant radiation lead to a much longer and painful end.

When radioactive elements were discovered in the late 1800s, they were used in almost everything. That included toothpaste, cigarettes, watches, business cards. The devastating effect of these bright objects on humans would come much later.

Eben Byers, America’s leading athlete, and socialite at the time would experience a similar end. Byers, an important name in the steel industry and a good athlete, became a golf champion in the United States in 1906 and knew no boundaries in womanizing, fell from a train bed one day in 1927 and injured his arm. This was the beginning of the road to the end.

Would you like a radiation drink?

Byers ‘ doctor recommended a drug called Radithor with radium in it. William J. Zira, inventor of the drug. Bailey was someone who paid doctors for every drug written. In Byers ‘ case, the drug actually worked with a placebo effect. Byers liked this drug, which we can technically call radium water, so much that he sent a safe to his colleagues as he drank it himself.

At that time there was a terrible ignorance about radiation and newfound elements/compounds in general. At the time, when cocaine was found in some non-alcoholic beverages and it was considered normal, one drug failed to get approval “because it did not contain enough radioactive substances.” Understand the gravity of the situation from there.

Byers, who had been drinking radiation fluids for several years, then began to lose weight, suffering from headaches. And his teeth were falling out. He also saw a doctor when his bones began to crumble.

Uh, bad radiation?

By 1931, the negative effects of radiation had been revealed. Even during this period, Byers was also asked to testify in the courts. Because Byers was an important figure. Otherwise, there were many female workers who suffered the same fate, much more painfully, than painting watches with Iridium paints.

Byers ‘ lawyer said the famous name had only two teeth left in his upper jaw, most of his lower jaw removed, holes in his skull began to form, and his bones were also crumbling.

Byers learned his condition was fatal, not long before he passed away at the age of 51. He drank so much radioactive liquid that his body was buried in a lead coffin. At this point, there were only 6 teeth left.

What happened to the radiation drugs?

During this period, real doctors who did not prescribe fatal fluids to minor bed fall injuries witnessed how harmful radiation can be to humans, research has found. As a result, radioactive elements were largely removed from the drugs.

The inventor of Radithor argued that his drug was safe. He died of bladder cancer in 1949. An autopsy 20 years later found that his internal organs had been torn apart by radiation and his remains were still warm.