--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We sat at long tables side by side in a…" description: "\"“We sat at long tables side by side in a big dusty room where we laughed and carried on until they told us to pipe down and paint. The running joke was..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/640/eleanor-swanson-140810_better-life_we-sat-at-long-tables-side-by-side-in-a_1671742.jpg" --- # We sat at long tables side by side in a big dusty room… ![“We sat at long tables side by side in a big dusty room where we laughed and carried on until they told us to pipe down and paint. The running joke was how we glowed, the handkerchiefs we sneezed into lighting up our purses when we opened them at night, our lips and nails, painted for our…” quote by Eleanor Swanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/640/eleanor-swanson-140810_better-life_we-sat-at-long-tables-side-by-side-in-a_1671742.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/640/eleanor-swanson-140810_better-life_we-sat-at-long-tables-side-by-side-in-a_1671742.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/640/eleanor-swanson-140810_better-life_we-sat-at-long-tables-side-by-side-in-a_1671742.jpg) > ““We sat at long tables side by side in a big dusty room where we laughed and carried on until they told us to pipe down and paint. The running joke was how we glowed, the handkerchiefs we sneezed into lighting up our purses when we opened them at night, our lips and nails, painted for our boyfriends as a lark, simmering white as ash in a dark room. "Would you die for science?" the reporter asked us, Edna and me, the main ones in the papers. Science? We mixed up glue, water and radium powder into a glowing greenish white paint and painted watch dials with a little brush, one number after another, taking one dial after another, all day long, from the racks sitting next to our chairs. After a few strokes, the brush lost its shape, and our bosses told us to point it with our lips. Was that science? I quit the watch factory to work in a bank and thought I'd gotten class, more money, a better life, until I lost a tooth in back and two in front and my jaw filled up with sores. We sued: Edna, Katherine, Quinta, Larice and me, but when we got to court, not one of us could raise our arms to take the oath. My teeth were gone by then. "Pretty Grace Fryer," they called me in the papers. All of us were dying. We heard the scientist in France, Marie Curie, could not believe "the manner in which we worked" and how we tasted that pretty paint a hundred times a day. Now, even our crumbling bones will glow forever in the black earth.”” Eleanor Swanson ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Workers in hazardous conditions suffered, yet their dedication persisted, reflecting the cost of progress and personal sacrifice. **In simple terms:** Hard work can be dangerous. Key Takeaway Recognize and protect laborers. Themes labor hazard sacrifice progress health Mood somber critical Type Better life:0 Dark room:0 Science:0 Side by side:0 Marie Curie:0 Glowed:0 Joke Glowed:0 Curie Believe:0 Die Science:0 When to use this quote - factory work - occupational safety - health advocacy Key Concepts industrial history worker rights Questions to Reflect On - How do we value progress versus human cost? - What protections are needed for dangerous jobs? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dark room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-room/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Side by side](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/side-by-side/) ## Related quotes > [“I am among those who think that science has great beauty. A scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician: he is also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-g-felder/i-am-among-those-who-think-that-science-has-great-beauty-a-scientist-3/) [Deborah G. 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In fact, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/adrienne-rich-did-not-die-a-woman-who-denied-that-her-wounds-came/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [I feel unbelievably honored to be, you know, with Marie Curie and Goeppert Mayer. It's like, how can I be in the same breath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-strickland/i-feel-unbelievably-honored-to-be-you-know-with-marie-curie-and/) [Donna Strickland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-strickland/) ## More Better life quotes > [My father longed for a better life for us, and when I was nine he got a job as a heart surgeon in Belfast.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-melua/my-father-longed-for-a-better-life-for-us-and-when-i-was-nine-he-got/) [Katie Melua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-melua/) > [A faithfully kept program of savings and conservative investments can give you more money and a better life than that of your neighbors who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-bryant-quinn/a-faithfully-kept-program-of-savings-and-conservative-investments-can/) [Jane Bryant Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-bryant-quinn/) > [“There is no greater force for change than people inspired to live a better life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/there-is-no-greater-force-for-change-than-people-inspired-to-live-a/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [If you want to live a meaningfully better life, you're going to have to make the dangerous choice to dissent. 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