Antimony Pill: The Everlasting Pill

Antimony—the soft, lustrous gray metal—has many industrial uses such as in the preparation of flame-retarding compounds and in the manufacture of alloys. The metal and its compounds has also been used since ancient times for various medical treatment. The ancient Egyptians, for instance, used grounded stibnite, a mineral containing antimony, as eyeliner and mascara due to its blackish color. Over the centuries, many different cultures including the Romans and the Greeks have held many bizarre beliefs regarding antimony and its properties leading to its use and sometimes misuse in a variety of different ways.