Alaina Urquhart

That's so crazy.

Isn't that wild?

Yes.

Because unlike traditional factory workers, like I was saying before, they had kind of a vibe they were going for.

They had a look.

They were young, attractive.

And those that earned a decent wage were often happy to spend at least some of that money to, you know, look good.

They were getting the latest fashion.

So they were always looked at as these glamazons that just like work in this studio painting with luminescent paint.

And they always come out, cover it, you know, like it was like this whole vibe.

And above all else, it was the radium itself that made these girls instantly recognizable as being radium girls who worked in the factories.

Yeah.

Because during their hours spent in the studio, like we said before, it was impossible to not get radium dust all over you in your hair, on your clothes.

So when they would leave work for the day, they had an unmistakable neon glow.

Stop it.

So they would walk out of there as the sun's going down and they're glowing.

Yeah.

A painter, Edna Bowles, said, when I would go home at night, my clothing would shine in the dark.

You could see where I was, my hair, my face.

The girls shone like the watches did in the darkroom.