"the glowing ghosts of the radium girls haunt us still."

( Wiki: 'Undark' )

..true story of the women heroes who were exposed to radium
in factories across the U.S. in the early 20th century,
and their brave and groundbreaking battle to strengthen workers'
rights, even as the fatal poison claimed their own lives...

The Curies' newly discovered element of radium makes gleaming headlines..
the popular new element shines bright in the otherwise dark years
of the First World War.

Meanwhile, hundreds of girls toil amidst the glowing dust of
the radium-dial factories.
..The Radium Girls were even told to lick their brushes
to get a fine point for detail work.

The glittering chemical covers their bodies from head to toe;
they light up the night like industrious fireflies.
With such a coveted job, these "shining girls" are the luckiest
alive ― until they begin to fall mysteriously ill.

The factories that once offered golden opportunities are then
ignoring all claims of the gruesome side effects,
and the women's cries of corruption. And as the fatal poison
of the radium takes hold, the brave shining girls find themselves
embroiled in one of the biggest scandals of America's early
20th century, and in a groundbreaking battle for workers' rights
that will echo for centuries to come.

( klassisk populær-litenskapelig artikkel >

(mer her: lyrikkutgave på temaet >

"At the time, though radium was known to be acutely dangerous,
nobody had any experience with radiation sickness."

"Next, read about how the Nagasaki bombing almost didn’t happen.
Then read about the worst human experiments in history."