Shoe-fitting fluoroscopes were once a common sight in Sydney’s shoe shops. But 65 years ago, medical specialists had become alarmed by the dangers the X-ray machines posed to customers and workers.

Thanks to reporter Ann Wlazelek for her July 24 story about her mother and the shoe X-ray machines. I remember those machines. I’ve sometimes wondered just how bad they were once we knew they were bad ...

Many of the greatest scientific discoveries are eventually changed and adapted for more practical and widespread use. Since its discovery by Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895, the use of the X-ray has become ...

A detail from a department store ad from The Washington Post in the 1930s.The ads touted the X-ray machines used to fit shoes for children. Such machines were common until the 1950s. (The Washington ...