In the 1920s and 1930s, radium was an exciting new material. It was used to illuminate watch dials in the dark, treat tumors, and also as a primary ingredient in quack medical remedies. This is the story of Radithor, a fake medicine containing radium.

The Salem witch trials of the early 1690s were the most notorious and lethal witch hunt in American history. At the heart of the trials, the Village of Salem was a town at its boiling point, but the complex political and social factors at play still seem insufficient to explain the happenings that ultimately transpired. Could it be that the affliction at the heart of Salem, the proximate cause of all the death and despair, was caused by a fungus?

Toxicology is full of treatments which are poorly supported by literature. Many of those treatments originated over 100 years ago. If you think data are bad now, we invite you to see what treatments were like in the past – drawn from the pages of multiple historical toxicology textbooks.

Dioxins are a category of persistent organic pollutant (POP), with a long history of human exposure and serious adverse health and environmental effects. Where did this forever chemical come from, and how did it end up in the dinner of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko in 2004? Join us as we discuss the long-lasting legacy of this class of compounds that was banned in 2001, but remains forever in our hearts (and lipid tissues, and ecosystem).

Springtime at the turn of the 20th century promised rebirth, hope, and prosperity in America. But in northern Michigan, a twisted nightmare was consuming an idyllic community. An infant was found deceased in a crib, the mother succumbing within the next hour, and the father only days later. Some feared a curse, others speculated a contagion. An intrepid duo of sheriff and attorney left no stone unturned, with suspicions centering around a widow in a black dress.

Join Dr. Marlis Gnirke on a “trip” to 1960s California discussing a different kind of acid, one at the intersection of human toxicology, veterinary toxicology, and classic cinema.

Dr. Sukhi Atti discusses the history of the release of nerve agent VX in Skull Valley, Utah.

Dr. Laurén Murphy discusses the history of physostigmine - from bean to medicine.