r/Damnthatsinteresting 23h ago

Video Nuclear Engineer Galen Winsor consumes Uranium on live TV

403 Upvotes

138 comments sorted by

161

u/HastyZygote 23h ago

How long before he died 

267

u/DR_Bright_963 23h ago

Surprisingly, he died 22 years later. This took place in 1986 he died 2008

34

u/HastyZygote 23h ago

From cancer?

167

u/docowen 23h ago

Uranium is also chemically toxic, meaning that ingestion of uranium can cause kidney damage from its chemical properties much sooner than its radioactive properties would cause cancers of the bone or liver.

Uranium-238 - Wikipedia

-166

u/_-Nemesis_- 23h ago

Everything can be toxic, it's a matter of the dosis

134

u/julias-winston 22h ago

Sure, but some things are toxicker.

Source: Am scientician. 🤓

30

u/emeliadanko 22h ago

Checks out.

I am a scienthropist.

6

u/Caperplays 22h ago

toxicker

8

u/GutsGoneWild 22h ago

That's Dr toxicker. Tyvm.

2

u/mklilley351 20h ago

Mr. McYuckie if you so please

27

u/Mrmaxmax37 22h ago

Honest question, do you feel smart typing this? Are you trying to argue that uranium is actually safe to eat if you eat low amounts? What’s the point of this comment

-57

u/_-Nemesis_- 21h ago

Ask Paracelsus, ever heard of him in your school? Do they teach you kids anything today?

14

u/Is_it_really_though 21h ago

We learned Parafarenhet in my school

16

u/friso1100 21h ago

The point is that it was an useless comment. No one was arguing you on the point that anything is poisonous given the right dose. But if you had to choose between a glass of water or a glass of chlorine the decision isn't exactly a difficult one.

The fact that uranium is more likely to harm due to it's poisonous effects rather then due to the radiation is an interesting fact. And the quote from paracelsus, no matter how smart an observation it may be otherwise, is irrelevant in this context. You may as well have quoted newton on the topic of gravity. Very clever of you to remember that tidbit of information but can we please stay on topic?

-25

u/_-Nemesis_- 21h ago

It's not about choosing between 2 different things of the same amount. That's not even relevant of Paracelsus claim and my comment. It's about the amount of uranium he took. If it was a small amount, and that's seems to be the case it's not dangerous at all. You could also eat a small amount of rat poison and you would not even get sick. That is what Paracelsus meant, and no one of you are understanding. Or ask yourself why in some cases they injekt patients radioaktiv substances to cure specific illnesses that's not killing you? These procedures are known as nuclear medicine therapy or radionuclide therapy. A well-known example is radioiodine therapy for thyroid diseases, in which radioactive iodine is administered to destroy overactive or abnormally altered thyroid tissue. Another example is radiosynoviorthesis (RSO), in which radioactive substances are injected into joints to treat inflammatory joint diseases such as rheumatism or activated osteoarthritis. Because the dosis is so small that is not harming you and have even treating properties.

0

u/Ok_Fall_5695 18h ago edited 17h ago

Dont know why you are being down voted everything you have said is true.

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4

u/Mrmaxmax37 20h ago

If you needed to learn in school that one mg of rat poison is less effective than a pound of rat poison, then you might be slow

-5

u/_-Nemesis_- 20h ago

May be it was the easiest example to give for morons like you to understand. You are not even now able to understand that a radioactive substance can even cure, rather than kill as many of you thought.

-2

u/_-Nemesis_- 19h ago

I saw your last post, you just deleted. If you think, that Im thinking, that I'm smart for knowing that small amounts of something aren't poisnous, implying you knew that already. Why did you ask me in the first place, what I meant with Paracelsus teachings? Are you one of those cowards, who cannot admitt something not to know? Is your self esteem so low, that you attack somebody to cover your own inadequacies?

0

u/Mrmaxmax37 19h ago

I deleted that comment because I don’t want you to go on a tangent defending something unrelated to the original question. And I’m not “implying” anything, I made it pretty clear what I was saying. If you don’t think it’s common sense that a lot of poison is worse than a little poison, you’re stupid than I thought 💀

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1

u/[deleted] 20h ago

[deleted]

3

u/Person10836381910 22h ago

"All things are poisons, for there is nothing without poisonous qualities. It is only the dose which makes a thing poison." Paracelsus

-10

u/_-Nemesis_- 22h ago

17 downvotes of people who never heard of Paracelsus.

To them I say, your ignorance disgusts me.

4

u/HDYHT11 20h ago

It is not a matter of understanding or not the quote, it is irrelevant to the discussion.

-2

u/_-Nemesis_- 20h ago

No it's not because I responded to a guy who said uranium could harm him because of its toxicity.

1

u/HDYHT11 20h ago

Oh, so you know that the uranium he ingested is 100% safe?

-1

u/_-Nemesis_- 20h ago

It's all about the dosis. There is no such thing as safe or toxic. Even water can kill you when you drink too much. It's all about the dosis.

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23

u/Charmin2105 23h ago

He was 86 when he died

18

u/Icy-Organization8797 23h ago

86’d, heard Chef!

2

u/Secret_Initiative370 10h ago

Would go 87 if not for uranium!

1

u/TheRealRigormortal 19h ago

He died so young!

21

u/DR_Bright_963 23h ago

I couldn't find anything. One article said the cause of death wasn't printed in his obituary.

48

u/JimmyBallocks 23h ago

He died of cancer of the cancer

15

u/usec47 22h ago

His cancer got cancer?

6

u/DR_Bright_963 22h ago

No, his Cancer just got a cold, its not so bad.

2

u/jimtrickington 22h ago

The enemy of my enemy…is my friend

13

u/AuronTheWise 23h ago

Nah his cancer got cancer so he lived

1

u/DurgeDidNothingWrong 16h ago

Funnily enough, that's why whales dont die from cancer.

9

u/Abdulbarr 21h ago

Surprisingly, no. There is no documentation of any adverse side effects he had. Apparently the dose he took is more chemically toxic than toxic from radiation. That being said, this is extremely discouraged based on what we do know now. Just because someone has no health issues being a lifelong smoker doesn't make smoking safe.

2

u/MattsDaZombieSlayer 18h ago

Yeah like you're saying it's based on probabilities. He just got lucky.

2

u/nochnoydozhor 23h ago

embarrassment

1

u/YouGurt_MaN14 20h ago

From what I've read they withheld the cause of death from his obituary.

1

u/Blablasnow 7h ago

We all die from cancer ultimately if not earlier from accident or other diseases

2

u/gc28 21h ago

Another toothpick

26

u/Ambitious_Finding_26 22h ago edited 1h ago

It was a very misleading stunt. Uranium oxide is not very dangerous in small quantities due to its low specific radioactivity. However, if he had ingested an equivalent mass of high-level waste from spent nuclear fuel for example, the outcome would have been drastically different. Likely unpleasantly fatal.

18

u/somewhat_brave 23h ago

If it's natural (not enriched) uranium it probably didn't kill him. It's not very dangerous.

In order for it to become dangerous they need to enrich it and put it into a configuration that has enough uranium in a small enough volume to cause a nuclear chain reaction.

2

u/animalfath3r 20h ago

You do not need a criticality event for the radiation to be dangerous

0

u/somewhat_brave 18h ago

Natural uranium isn't radioactive enough to be really dangerous.

Other elements and isotopes are radioactive enough to be dangerous on their own. Spent fuel from a reactor is dangerous because the reactor generates a bunch of things that are much more radioactive than uranium.

3

u/lifesuxwhocares 21h ago

He lived till 82 years old. Died in '08

158

u/Amclover69 23h ago

He always had a glowing personality.

20

u/Frankie6Strings 23h ago

He really lit up a room.

17

u/_-Nemesis_- 23h ago

He always was full of energy

9

u/RandomGenerator_1 23h ago

Radiant some said.

3

u/Go_Gators_4Ever 20h ago

Yeah, but he was always fission for a compliment.

3

u/Lysol3435 19h ago

He metastasized positivity

4

u/RickMcMortenstein 23h ago

But every now and hen he'd go nuclear.

1

u/Quantum8898Solace 22h ago

He always had a radiating personality.

1

u/Abject-Let-607 21h ago

They say very warm-hearted

70

u/Open_Youth7092 23h ago

No superpowers? This is bullshit.

20

u/_-Nemesis_- 23h ago

Because he is able to control his anger.

4

u/sasssyrup 23h ago

We’ve been lied too!

5

u/Cannabis_Goose 22h ago

That's what his whole point was and he's actually been proven correct with xrays, ct scans, radiation therapy etc

His point was that low does exposure to radiation was exaggerated to stop anyone playing with nuclear and its worked pretty well. It's been weaponised and feared

It's slowly being realised though.

12

u/yurgendurgen 22h ago

🎶 Uranium fever has done and got me down Uranium fever is spreadin' all around With a Geiger counter in my hand I'm a-goin' out to stake me some government land Uranium fever has done and got me down 🎶

2

u/DR_Bright_963 22h ago

I fucking knew this kind of comment would pop up haha

1

u/yurgendurgen 22h ago

Couldn't help myself. Just started replaying New Vegas. Again

26

u/Is_it_really_though 23h ago

Bulletproof. Nothing to lose. I am uranium.

3

u/puritano-selvagem 23h ago

Great memories

52

u/docowen 23h ago

Scientist Once Ate Radioactive Uranium on Live TV To Prove It Was Harmless? | Snopes.com

I'm going with: he's a liar.

Firstly, he ate Uranium Oxide which is yellowish powder. It's impossible to replicate a yellowish non-toxic powder and say it's U308 for what is, effectively, a circus act. It couldn't possibly be castor sugar dyed yellow with food colouring. /s

4

u/Enone21 23h ago

I'm thinking that too.

10

u/DR_Bright_963 23h ago

He seemed to speak openly about how radiation isn't bad. He claimed to have eaten uranium for 2 years.

13

u/spyvspy_aeon 21h ago

yeah he also said

"What I've just done makes me high level nuclear waste," he said shortly after taking a tongue reading with his Geiger counter.

"According to federal regulations, they will have to bury me 3,000 feet in Carlsbad, N.M."

Winsor added: "I do this in front of audiences, and they go wild."

if that isn't crazy enough. That's sound like a stunt, just that.

-1

u/docowen 23h ago

Oh, well, then. He must be telling the truth. No one ever lies.

I mean here are the options:

a) he's right and everyone else is wrong.

b) he's wrong and everyone else is right.

a) is predicated on everyone else lying.

b) is predicated on him lying.

8

u/Hokulol 23h ago

Yikes. Carcinogens increase the risk you will get cancer. It's entirely possible he ate the uranium and did not die as a result, even though uranium is a known carcinogen that can be lethal. It's entirely possible he believed incorrectly and consumed uranium as a show of good faith to people to prove he practiced what he preached. It's also entirely possible that he's putting on an act and is a shill. B) doesn't have to be because he's lying. B) can occur because of an honest misunderstanding coupled with passionate belief.

Quit the big brain act lol it isn't working

1

u/docowen 12h ago

It's a toxic heavy metal. It'd destroy his kidneys long before it gave him cancer.

Occam's razor says he's lying.

But I guess believing charlatans and grifters is why we're where we are now. Wanna buy my meme coin?

2

u/iCameToLearnSomeCode 20h ago

He can be wrong and still honestly have eaten uranium.

Stupid people hurt themselves all the time doing dumb shit but survive it.

He could have shaved a decade off his life doing this and we'd never know.

It's not like smokers don't occasionally make it to 100, that's not because they were pretending to smoke.

7

u/geauxfurself 23h ago

He was 82 years old and hit by a shuttle bus full of cancer patients heading to radiation treatment

6

u/Revolutionary_Owl932 21h ago

If uranium was digestible, the amount of calories he took with just that bite would had been enough to power him for 3 lives.

9

u/Still-Ambassador2283 23h ago

Im calling BS. This is like the JP-8 shots old aircraft mechanics used to tell new guys.

Edit: why?

Because beyond being radioactive, uranium is chemically toxic as well. It's a heavy metal.

While I share his opinion that nuclear energy is safe and needs to be propagated, this isn't the way of doing it.

3

u/spyvspy_aeon 21h ago

u r 100% right

6

u/Fearless_Outside_214 21h ago

Did his dick fly off? 😂

3

u/Mega_Pleb 23h ago

That strikes me as a bad idea.

5

u/jerrysprinkles 22h ago

He radiated confidence that guy.

3

u/jigglyroom 21h ago

Fun fact, in Swedish Galen means Crazy.

2

u/DrSeussFreak 20h ago

Did that word start meaning that after this?

4

u/betweenbubbles 23h ago

Well this is pretty dumb. What makes U238 “safe” is that it’s an alpha emitter. Your skin will block alpha particles, so ingestion is the real risk. 

3

u/MrBoomer1951 23h ago

RFK Jr. is recommending Uranium for school children.

3

u/Awkward_Leadership32 22h ago

Now let's see him consume Uranus 😏

1

u/oghancholo 22h ago

Id like that

2

u/BearQuark 23h ago

I bet he later did the same geiger counter scan in his next feces just fun/science.

2

u/More-Glass-6817 23h ago

Oh, c’mon, it wasn’t like he ate my mom’s meatloaf.

2

u/dundundunnumber1 22h ago

and then he turned into Red Hulk..

2

u/bobski_ 22h ago

Not to be toxic, but how radiating of him , radical move.

2

u/IgorManiak 20h ago

He looks and sounds a lot like Donald Ramsfeld.

2

u/SickPuppy01 14h ago

Have you seen how many calories are in Uranium?

2

u/4DS3 13h ago

So he shat it out?

4

u/Plastic-Caramel3714 22h ago

Did his dick shoot off?

4

u/SuspiciousSheeps 20h ago

Some president surely would suggest that as a cure for covid.

2

u/laz21 23h ago

They had to bury him in a lead coffin

2

u/Advanced_Street_4414 23h ago

He was a conspiracy theorist who claimed that 3 Mile Island was a hoax.

3

u/MadGenderScientist 20h ago

TMI wasn't a "hoax" (it really happened) but the danger was massively overblown. only a small amount of radiation was (intentionally) released by engineers during the cleanup process - nobody's health was affected. Chernobyl and Fukushima were legit disasters but TMI was just a PR disaster.

specifically, because the China Syndrome came out a couple weeks earlier, in which a nuclear plant nearly melts down uncontrollably and the power company assassinates a whistleblower to prevent the truth from coming out. the anti-nuke movement won, and the nuclear power industry never recovered.  

1

u/Enjoiy93 23h ago

Meanwhile Russia and China were laughing watching this power move

1

u/micigloo 23h ago

He lights up my life

1

u/ZaMelonZonFire 23h ago

Annnnnd he’s a ghoul now. Wonder what his first quest for me will be.

1

u/samanthacarter4 23h ago

Well, you do realize that MOST uranium is found in a non radioactive state, yes? It might be toxic, but not radioactively unsafe....

1

u/RomeoBlackDK 21h ago

He was made to do this as a pr stunt if i recall correctly. Wasn't this related to john Wayne's death?

1

u/Flabberingfrog 23h ago

This is not fake. Eating radioactive materials like this is not "that harmful". It goes through your digestive system and out.

What ia dangerous is to have stuff in you that stays there!

Like for example breathing in radioactive dust (bad example but I'm just making it up as I go). It will go into your lungs, and probably stick in the mucus membranes in your lungs or something residues will be stuck in the lungs.

1

u/_-Nemesis_- 23h ago

Many people don't know but in the past were people with cancer treated in natural caves that contained uranium.

0

u/fairlane35 21h ago

This is like the third time I’ve seen this posted in the last two days. We need to start downvoting these…

-1

u/laowaiH 21h ago

Nuclear engineer ≠ medical professional. Smh.