Inventors Who Were Killed By Their Inventions

The Samples Glowed Like Faint Fairy Lights

Solving the mysteries of science was already a driving motivation for Marie Sklodowska Curie. It was the soft fairy light glow of the materials she carried in her pocket that drew her to radiation research. What was it and is it for all materials? Marie Curie's research into radioactive substances won her two Nobel prizes, making her the first woman to win that award. For decades she worked in the presence of radioactive material with only her lab coat to protect her. She had no idea that her life's work would be the ultimate cause of her death. Her clothing and archived research papers will remain radioactive for the next 1500 years.