In a startling clip resurfaced this week, **Galen Winsor**, a self‑described nuclear chemist, appears to consume **uranium oxide** on camera in the 1980s—claiming the act was meant to prove nuclear radiation was exaggerated and not as dangerous as believed UNILAD’s coverage of the video and further explained by **Snopes** fact-checking the event and its accuracy.
Followers of his lecture series say he toured with the **John Birch Society**, presenting “The Nuclear Scare Scam,” in which he would reportedly show a bottle of uranium oxide powder and then taste it—remarking, **“I do this in front of audiences, and they go wild.”** Winsor claimed this made him “high-level nuclear waste” and joked about federal burial regulations as originally described in 1985 press reports and **Snopes’ clarification** on authenticity assessment.
“He carries uranium, he eats it, to show radiation fear was overblown.”
Despite sensational captions, Snopes reports **Winsor was not a renowned physicist**, but rather a chemist who worked at Hanford’s nuclear site and held unconventional views on radiation safety. While the viral video is considered genuine, the true identity of the substance he consumed—uranium oxide—cannot be completely confirmed, nor whether the event aired live on television in Snopes’ mixed verdict.
On Reddit’s r/interestingasfuck, users reacted with a mix of disbelief and scientific commentary: > “He wasn’t a nuclear physicist… he was a nuclear chemist. And eating uranium means heavy-metal toxicity—not radiation exposure.” > “Your body poops out nearly all of it—only a tiny bit might absorb into bones.”
Modern toxicology supports those Reddit claims. Reports explain that ingesting **only 25 milligrams** of uranium can produce **kidney damage**, while **50 milligrams or more** can lead to renal failure or death. Lung exposure is far more hazardous than ingestion due to direct alpha particle damage as detailed by HowStuffWorks.
Despite its radioactive nature, when uranium is ingestible in the form of **stable oxide**, a large percentage—but not all—passes through the body without entering circulation. Some fraction may deposit in bone, but the primary hazard in small quantities remains chemical toxicity rather than radiation risk as chemical safety literature explains.
Winsor’s stunt gained notoriety when newspapers in the **mid‑1980s** described him as tasting yellow uranium powder on stage while a Geiger counter beeped. He toured public venues asserting that anti-nuclear regulations were scare tactics. Local officials labeled him irresponsible, though not technically illegal under then-existing laws as archived in multiple 1985 reports.
Winsor reportedly continued this performance for years. He passed away in **2008 at age 82**, though no official cause of death was released, and no radiation-related illnesses were linked publicly to his demonstration as noted in obituary records.
This episode remains a surreal intersection of science showmanship and pseudoscience warning signs. While ingestion of a small stable form of uranium oxide might not cause immediate radiation harm, toxic poisoning is real—and experts unanimously advise against repeating Winsor’s experiment.
