Chapter 02 of 5
Lip, Dip, Paint
The daily routine of the 'Ghost Girls' and a hidden danger.
- The Dream Job
Elite Status
In 1917, dial painting was a high-status job for young women. It paid three times the average factory wage, attracting thousands to the studios.
- Precision Work
Tiny Canvas
Workers painted numbers on watch dials for soldiers in WWI. The numbers were so small they required extreme precision and a steady hand.
- The Technique
Lip, Dip, Paint
To keep the camel-hair brushes sharp, supervisors taught girls to use their mouths. They would 'lip' the brush to a point before dipping it in radium.
17 more cards in this chapter
Could you answer this?
Why did the dial painters put the radium-laced brushes in their mouths?
⌚ The Radium Girls: The Dark Glow of Progress
- 01The Miracle ElementThe 1920s obsession with Radium as a life-giving luxury.
- 02Lip, Dip, PaintThe daily routine of the 'Ghost Girls' and a hidden danger.
- 03The Bones of GlassThe terrifying onset of 'Radium Jaw' and corporate denial.
- 04The Living Dead SueA race against time in the legal battle of a lifetime.
- 05The Legacy of LightHow a tragic sacrifice birthed modern American labor laws.