Category Archives: Popular entertainment

The Curious History of the Röntgen Ray, Part VI: Completely Harmless — Odorless — Safe and Educational

Although the dangers of X-ray exposure were increasingly understood by clinicians and laypeople, a notable exception to this shift in attitude was shoe-stores’ use of the fluoroscope. From the 1920s through the 1950s these machines…

The Curious History of the Röntgen Ray, Part III

Occult Entertainment The X-ray’s entertainment value extended far beyond novelty or morbid curiosity about the self. Turning appearances inside out, revealing the image of our death beneath our skin, subverted the visible, known world to…