6. Radioactive Water

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While careful use of radiation certainly has its uses in modern medicine, such as treating certain types of cancer, it was used a bit more willy-nilly back in the early 1950s as a cure for things like malaria and diarrhea. It was also though to be useful for slowing the aging process. Since then medical science has come to realize that the radium that was once used to prepare radioactive water for therapeutic purposes can be very harmful and put people at risk for diseases such as cancer.