Category: Radionuclides
Estimated Date: 1912
Name: Revigator, early
Manufacturer: Radium Ore Co.

Description: An earthenware crock, which is shaped with a narrow lid and wider at the bottom. Has a spigot with imprinted directions on the side telling the user to drink frequently from the crock to gain the benefits of the radioactivity. The label reads “RevigatorRadium Ore, Patented 7/16l12, Trademark The Radium Ore Revigator Company, 260 CaliforniaStreet, San Francisco, California.“The instructions on the jar read “fill jar every night, use hydrant or any good water, drink freely when thirsty upon arising, and retiring, average 6 ormore glasses daily, scrub with stiff brush and scald monthly.” The radiation reading inside of this stoneware jug was 5.2 mR per hour and the outside the reading was about 1 to 2 mR per hour. The Revigator originally contained a cone of radioactive ore, which was placed in the crock.The water then would sit with it, absorb the emitted radon. and was to be drunk on a regular basis for its curative properties. A later version is not quite as interesting in form. A student of history, Andrew Gardeck has created a website devoted to this instrument.

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