Rainy Day Rabbit Holes: History Unhinged

At the dawn of the 20th century, radium was not feared. It was celebrated. Marketed as a miracle of modern science, this newly discovered element promised vitality, beauty, and better health. Companies sold radioactive clocks, cosmetics, medical devices, and even drinking water, all proudly glowing with progress.
In this episode of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes, Shea sits down with the creator behind Radiant Radium, a collector and historian who specializes in household and beauty products from the radium craze of the 1910s through the 1930s. Drawing from his extensive personal collection, Radiant Radium walks us through a period when radiation was a selling point and the long term dangers were barely understood.
We discuss how these objects escaped the laboratory and ended up in kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms across America. From glow in the dark clocks and uranium glass to radium water crocks, radioactive cones, cosmetics, medical quackery, and infamous patent medicines like Radithor, this episode traces the rise and fall of one of the strangest health fads in American history.
Along the way, we explore the Radium Girls, the tragic death of Eben Byers, the collapse of public trust in radium, and why belief in the health benefits of radiation still persists today. We also talk about the legality and safety of collecting radioactive antiques, how to identify them, and what to do if you find one in an antique store or a relative’s home.
History, curiosity, and caution collide in this deep dive into a time when the future looked bright, and sometimes literally glowed.
Find Radiant Radium
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@radiantradium
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/radiantradium/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radiant.radium
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Rainy Day Rabbit Holes: www.rainydayrabbitholes.com

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“Here are the first toilet preparations to embody actual radium, an astonishing new force for betterment, applied as an aid to beauty.”The early 20th century was a strange and optimistic time. In the years following Marie and Pierre Curie’s discovery of radium, the world became obsessed with this mysterious, glowing element—and before long, that obsession made its way into everyday life.
During the height of the Radium Craze, companies sold beauty products that claimed to contain real radium, promising smoother skin, renewed vitality, and a healthy glow—sometimes quite literally. Creams, powders, and cosmetics were marketed as cutting‑edge science, long before the dangers of radiation were understood.
This 5‑Minute Friday episode offers a quick glimpse into that bizarre moment in history and serves as a teaser for next week’s full‑length episode. Shea will be joined by the creator behind the Radiant Radium social media channels, a collector and historian who specializes in household and beauty products from the radium era.
Next week, we’ll go far beyond cosmetics—into glowing clocks, radioactive water, dangerous health fads, and the long shadow these products left behind.
Subscribe now so you don’t miss it.
Find Radiant Radium online:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radiant.radium
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@radiantradium
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/radiantradium/

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What happens when a city decides kindness is better than cruelty?
In this special crossover episode of Rainy Day Rabbit Holes, we’re joined by the incredible gals from PNW Haunts & Homicides to explore one of the strangest—and most unexpectedly heartwarming—stories in American history: Joshua Abraham Norton, the self‑declared Emperor of the United States.
Born into loss, fortune, ruin, and obscurity, Norton reemerged in 1859 with a bold declaration that could have ended very badly… except San Francisco leaned in. What followed was a twenty‑year “reign” filled with proclamations, public appearances, political commentary, and a city that collectively decided to play along.
Along the way, we explore:
A Gold Rush city bursting with chaos, ambition, and opportunity
A man who issued decrees abolishing Congress and the Supreme Court
A public arrest that backfired spectacularly
An Emperor who defended immigrants, challenged racist violence, and promoted civil rights long before it was fashionable
A city that fed him, clothed him, saluted him… and mourned him
Was Emperor Norton mad? Satirical? Visionary? Or something else entirely?
And why did San Francisco—of all places—embrace him instead of locking him away?
You’ll have to fall down the rabbit hole with us to find out.
👻 Crossover Love
Huge thanks to PNW Haunts & Homicides, where ghosts, murder, and Pacific Northwest weirdness all hang out together.
👉 Follow and listen at: https://www.pnwhauntsandhomicides.com/
🌧️ More Rabbit Holes
Find sources, photos, episode notes, and more at our website:
👉 https://www.rainydayrabbitholes.com/
🎟️ LIVE EVENT ALERT
Love strange history in person?
Join us June 3rd in Tacoma, WA for a live event at McMenamins Spanish Ballroom at the Elks Temple:
History Pub: Tacoma’s UFO Story — The Maury Island Incident
Presented by Steve Edmiston, Shea Drury, and Chris Staudinger
🎫 Tickets here:
👉 https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/41193663/history-pubtacomas-ufo-story-the-maury-island-incident-presented-by-steve-edmistonshea-druryand-chris-staudinger-tacoma-mcmenamins-spanish-ballroom-elks-temple
Sometimes the strangest stories are the most human.
Stay curious—and we’ll see you down the rabbit hole.
🐇👑

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Today’s episode is a special feature from Dark History: Where the Darkness Sees the Light, a podcast that’s part of our Umbrella Podcast Collective.
Hosted by Rob Bradley, Dark History explores the uncomfortable, often unsettling stories we like to believe are safely buried in the past—and then shows how they still shape the world we live in.
In this episode, Rob takes a deep dive into the history of snake oil: the miracle cures, the confident sales pitches, and the long tradition of selling certainty to people who are scared, sick, or searching for answers. What begins in the 19th century quickly becomes something much more familiar, as the same patterns of deception reappear in modern forms—polished, optimized, and online.
This is one of our favorite episodes Rob has done. Not just because of the history, but because of how clearly it reveals a hard truth: the scams didn’t disappear. They adapted.
Listen closely. The bottles may be gone, but the promises remain.
🔗 Listen to Dark History
🎙️ Dark History: Where the Darkness Sees the Light
👉 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s5-e4-snake-oil-never-died-it-just-went-online/id1603599807?i=1000751583276
☔ Rainy Day Rabbit Holes
🌧️ Explore more episodes and rabbit holes at:
👉 https://www.rainydayrabbitholes.com
☔ Umbrella Podcast Collective
Rainy Day Rabbit Holes is proud to be part of the Umbrella Podcast Collective, a group of independent podcasts exploring strange history, dark stories, and the things that refuse to stay buried.
🌐 Learn more about the collective:
👉 https://www.rainydayrabbitholes.com/umbrella-collective

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In this collaborative episode, Rainy Day Rabbit Holes joins forces with Caitlyn and Cassie from PNW Haunts and Homicides to explore one of the strangest modern treasure hunts in history: Forrest Fenn’s hidden chest.
Presented by Caitlyn, the story follows art dealer and Vietnam veteran Forrest Fenn, who in 2010 announced that he had hidden a bronze treasure chest somewhere in the Rocky Mountains—worth millions—and released a cryptic poem meant to lead seekers to it. What began as a whimsical riddle quickly spiraled into a decade-long obsession involving online sleuths, wilderness expeditions, lawsuits, environmental damage, and tragic deaths.
Along the way, we unpack the poem’s clues, popular interpretations (including the infamous “home of Brown”), the massive online communities that formed around the hunt, and the ethical questions raised when adventure turns dangerous. The episode closes with a tarot reading that eerily mirrors the story’s ultimate lesson: knowing when to walk away.
Equal parts mystery, cautionary tale, and cultural phenomenon, this episode asks: when does the thrill of the chase stop being worth the cost?

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https://www.pnwhauntsandhomicides.com/

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