The Man Who Survived Being Shot Through the Head By the World’s Strongest Laser

Eben Byers

Byers was an athlete and socialite, one of the wealthiest individuals on the east coast in the early 1900s. Byers suffered from chronic pain due to injuries caused by playing football and he consulted his doctor for a cure. His doctor prescribed him a patent-pending drug called Padithor, which contained radium. For 3 years, Byers drank nearly 1400 bottles of this solution, and eventually died from complications relating to the drug. He was buried in a lead casket in Pittsburgh.

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