For a long time thorium oxide (99 percent ThO₂ and 1% cerium(IV) oxide) was used to make some mantles in portable camping lanterns. https://en.wikipedia.org/wik

For a long time thorium oxide (99 percent ThO₂ and 1% cerium(IV) oxide) was used to make some mantles in portable camping lanterns. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_mantle#Safety_concerns https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_mantle#Safety_concerns I remember as a kid wondering how that mantle - which looked like cloth - could glow without disintegrating. Worse yet - break one of those mantles, then breathe in a particle ... EDIT: Looks like Coleman switched to Yttrium...