Re:How We Realized Putting Radium in Everything Was Not the ...
by thaumasiotes on Tuesday April 25, 2017 @01:33PM
(#14196009)
I "recently" (several years ago) read the original Conan stories and the Wizard of Oz books (there are many).
One thing that leapt out at me was how they both talked about radium. The cultural view of it at the time was radically different. Radium was a source of health and magic, capable of solving any problem. There was a passage in which the protagonists encountered a mysterious phenomenon, and "logically" concluded "this must be done with radium".
These are fantasy stories, but their similar ideas about what radium was ("magic") and what it was good for ("everything") had to come from somewhere, and had to be acceptable to their anticipated audience.
To me in the 21st century, it was obviously insane, since radioactivity is best known for ruthlessly murdering anyone in proximity. There's culture shock for you. :/
One thing that leapt out at me was how they both talked about radium. The cultural view of it at the time was radically different. Radium was a source of health and magic, capable of solving any problem. There was a passage in which the protagonists encountered a mysterious phenomenon, and "logically" concluded "this must be done with radium".
These are fantasy stories, but their similar ideas about what radium was ("magic") and what it was good for ("everything") had to come from somewhere, and had to be acceptable to their anticipated audience.
To me in the 21st century, it was obviously insane, since radioactivity is best known for ruthlessly murdering anyone in proximity. There's culture shock for you. :/