From A Bombs To Toothpaste, What Was The Somerton Man Cause Of Death And Why Did He Lose So Many Teeth?

1. Radium in WWII: From Medical Treatment to Military Equipment

Radium and other radioactive materials played significant roles during the 1940 to 1948 period, serving both medical and military purposes. The incidence of radium possibly used in the Somerton Man case also raises intriguing questions about how this material may have affected evidence. This article explores the use of radium in both medical treatments and military equipment during WW2 and the time leading up to the discovery of the man's body on Somerton Beach on December 1t 1948. In particular, could radium or some other form of radiation have caused the significant tooth loss as observed and recorded by Dr Dwyer at the Somerton Man's autopsy. Was some kind of exposure to radioactive materials or experiments the Somerton Man's cause of death?

2. Radium as a Medical Treatment: The Early Days

Radium therapy, or radiotherapy, was a prominent medical treatment during the 1940s. It was used widely to treat skin and head and neck tumors, conditions affecting civilians and military personnel. Radium’s radioactive decay emitted gamma rays, which could target and destroy cancerous cells. During the war, radium therapy was applied in military hospitals for service members suffering from these conditions.

One significant use of radium was in treating musculoskeletal injuries, a common issue among soldiers wounded in battle. Radium’s anti-inflammatory properties made it a popular treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and joint pain. It was also used in cases where soldiers had sustained injuries that developed into chronic conditions or difficult-to-heal wounds. This included burn treatments and infection management—radium was believed to sterilize wounds and promote healing.

However, this optimism about radium's healing potential was short-lived. Over time, the dangers of radium exposure became clear, with patients experiencing adverse effects like osteoradionecrosis (bone death) and tooth loss. This is particularly relevant in the Somerton Man case, where the man was discovered with 18 missing teeth, as documented by Dr. Dwyer, who performed the autopsy. Dr. Dwyer created a handwritten dental chart of the Somerton Man’s teeth, showing the extent of his dental condition. The missing teeth raise further questions about whether the Somerton Man could have been exposed to radiation or other treatments that may have affected his dental health prior to his death.

The forensic examination of the exhumed body should hold the answer to these questions.

3. Radium in Military Equipment: A War-Time Necessity

While radium was a popular medical tool, it also had essential applications in military equipment. Radium’s luminescent properties were invaluable for ensuring visibility in low-light environments. Radium-based luminous paint was used to coat the dials and gauges in submarines, aircraft, and other military vehicles. This allowed soldiers to read critical instruments at night or in dark settings without using external light sources, which could expose them to enemy detection.

Submariners, for example, relied on radium-lit depth gauges and periscopes to navigate during submerged operations. Similarly, aircraft pilots used radium-coated instruments for navigation during night missions. Even watches, such as the Panerai Radiomir used by Italian Navy frogmen, had radium-luminous paint on their dials, allowing divers to track time during underwater operations.

Military divers and special operations units also used radium-luminous instruments in their underwater missions. Given the importance of timing and depth awareness for operations like those conducted by Allied forces, radium was seen as a key element in ensuring mission success.

This reliance on radium, however, exposed many workers to hazardous conditions. Those who applied the paint to maintained equipment, or handled radium-coated tools faced long-term health risks. It wasn’t until the post-war years that the military recognized the dangers of radium, leading to a shift toward safer alternatives like tritium in military instruments.

4. Radium and Forensic Investigations: Linking to the Somerton Man Forensic Analysis 

The missing teeth observed in the Somerton Man could be linked to medical or environmental factors, and the potential impact of radiation exposure (through radium therapy or environmental exposure) cannot be ruled out. Dr. Dwyer’s handwritten dental chart provided a key piece of forensic evidence, although the specific cause of the missing teeth remains unclear as you will read later in this article there is one prime suspect that exists.

Radium, when used in medical or military applications, can degrade over time, further complicating the preservation of tissues or evidence. The Somerton Man DNA results in the case, the condition of the hair and tooth and bone samples is crucial for establishing identity through mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) or nuclear DNA, which have limitations based on the sample quality and age. 

5. Could Doramad Radioactive Toothpaste Explain the Somerton Man's Missing Teeth?

The Somerton Man case remains one of the most puzzling unsolved mysteries, and forensic investigations have raised various questions about the state of his body, including the fact that he was missing 18 teeth at the time of his death. One possible but lesser-known factor worth considering is the use of Doramad Radioactive Toothpaste, developed in Germany in the 1920s. Doramad contained small amounts of thorium, a radioactive element, which was marketed under the false premise of improving oral hygiene and strengthening teeth.

While there is no direct evidence linking Doramad toothpaste to the Somerton Man, exposure to radioactive substances such as thorium can have long-term detrimental effects on dental and bone health. Radioactive elements like thorium can accumulate in bone tissue, and prolonged exposure could potentially lead to osteoradionecrosis—the death of bone cells due to radiation exposure. This condition can weaken the jawbone and lead to tooth loss, which raises the question of whether the Somerton Man could have used such products, or been exposed to similar radiation sources, contributing to his dental condition.

Although Doramad was marketed as a product to strengthen teeth, the risks of using radioactive substances in dental products were not fully understood at the time. If the Somerton Man had been exposed to such products, it might provide a speculative explanation for his missing teeth. However, without specific evidence, this remains a hypothesis worth further exploration.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doramad_Radioactive_Toothpaste

6. An Interesting Historical Aside: Thorium Theft During WWII

During World War II, while Germany occupied France, the Nazis systematically stole large quantities of thorium from the country’s chemical and industrial reserves. Initially, the Allies believed that this stolen thorium was intended for use in the development of atomic bombs, which heightened concern about Germany’s nuclear ambitions.

As it turned out, however, the thorium was primarily used for more mundane purposes—such as manufacturing radioactive consumer products like Doramad Radioactive Toothpaste. This surprising revelation added a strange twist to the wartime scramble for nuclear materials, as German chemists exploited thorium’s properties for commercial products instead of advancing atomic weaponry.

7. Conclusion

Although there is no confirmed link between Doramad toothpaste and the Somerton Man’s missing teeth, considering the harmful long-term effects of radioactive materials on bone health opens up intriguing possibilities. The presence of thorium in everyday products like toothpaste and the historical theft of thorium by the Germans suggests that exposure to such substances could have had serious health consequences for those using them. The question is, did DORAMAD play a role in the Somerton Man’s excessive toot loss? That it could have done is quite possible but it still remains an open question. In due course, while we may not find the the man's identity, we might well find just who killed the Somerton man and importantly why he was killed.

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