Excerpted from Chain Reaction: The Hopeful History of Uranium by Lucy Jane Santos with permission from Pegasus Books. November 2024.
In the late 1880s, La Belle Glass Company in the US developed Ivory or Custard glass by increasing the concentration of uranium oxide, resulting in an opaque effect. Heat-sensitive chemicals like gold were added to create a shading effect from clear yellow to milky white at the edges. Meanwhile, Burmese glass, developed by Mount Washington Glass company, included uranium oxide and colloidal gold, producing opaque glass in shades of pink to yellow, named after Queen Victoria’s remark on its resemblance to a Burmese sunset.
The yellowish-green effect of uranium glass, later known as Vaseline glass, became popular among buyers. Various companies competed to produce new colors and effects using uranium in their glass manufacturing processes.
One unusual use of uranium as a coloring agent was noted in 1847, when Scientific American reported its use in artificial teeth, giving them an orange-yellow hue. This unconventional application was part of the evolving ideas in the medical field regarding the use of toxic substances for therapeutic purposes.
Christian Gmelin’s research in 1824 on uranium’s toxicity, as part of a chemistry treatise, involved feeding uranium salts to dogs and rabbits to study its effects. He concluded that while uranium was a weak poison when consumed, it was swiftly fatal when administered through intravenous injection.
Further experiments by C. Le Conte in 1853 using uranium nitrate showed the induction of kidney disease in dogs, leading to the idea of using uranium to treat illnesses with similar symptoms.
Samuel West’s clinical experiments with uranium salts for diabetes treatment in the late 19th century showed some improvements in patients’ symptoms, although the results were inconclusive. Despite this, uranium treatments continued to be used for various ailments, including urinary incontinence, stomach ulcers, and hemorrhage control.
Medicinal products containing uranium, such as tabloids and palatinoids, were marketed by pharmaceutical companies for different treatments. The unconventional use of uranium extended to products like snuff and medicated wine, claiming various health benefits.
About the author: Lucy Jane Santos, author of Half Lives: The Unlikely History of Radium, is an expert in the history of the twentieth century, particularly in the cultural history of radioactivity. She currently serves as the Executive Secretary of the British Society for the History of Science and resides in England.
