In 1927, Eben Byers was a successful Pittsburgh businessman and former amateur golf champion who had everything going for him. The wealthy socialite won the U.S. Amateur Golf Championship in 1906 and lived a life of privilege as chairman of the Girard Iron Company. But his life took a dark turn after a simple accident during a train ride. When he fell from his sleeping berth and hurt his arm, Byers looked for relief from the pain that would not go away.
According to Wikipedia, his doctor told him to try Radithor, a medicine marketed as a health drink that promised to cure many health problems. The product was made by William J.A. Bailey, a Harvard dropout who lied about being a doctor of medicine. Radithor was simply radium mixed with triple distilled water. Each bottle had at least one microcurie each of radium-226 and radium-228. Bailey sold over 400,000 bottles at $1 each between 1925 and 1930, making himself rich with a profit margin of about 400 percent.
