Found on littlefros: Radioactive Consumer Products. Now I'd heard about gas lantern mantles, smoke detectors, the old red Fiestaware, and of course glow-in-the-dark watch faces.

But... Brazil nuts? They have 1000 times the radium as other foods. Kaopectate? Evidently, the Georgia clay, kaolin, (used to) give the Kao to Kaopectate, and "contains elevated levels of the uranium and thorium decay series." Not to worry, since "it would be necessary to consume over 1000 pounds [of Kaopectate] a year to exceed the annual limit of intake (ALI) established by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP)." The authors wryly add that "if you are using that much antidiarrhea medication, you have more important things to worry about than exceeding the ICRP's ALI."

Most shocking of all -- this same kaolin is used to coat paper to give glossy magazines their gloss. Giving rise to what is perhaps the greatest scientific chart ever published:

Yes, Playboy magazine is radioactive. This explains so much of my adolescence.

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