The End of the Glitter Conspiracy
July 19, 2023 11:40 AM Subscribe
“The glitter empire, and the shocking truth we never expected to uncover.” [27:06]
Previously: “Mostly plastic, and often from New Jersey,” Lycaste, 21 December 2018
Previously: “Mostly plastic, and often from New Jersey,” Lycaste, 21 December 2018
Please be Julian Clary.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 12:00 PM on July 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 12:00 PM on July 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
david bowie's corpse
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 12:07 PM on July 19, 2023
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 12:07 PM on July 19, 2023
david bowie's corpse
They sucked his brains out!
Reads like a new Bauhaus EP.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 12:13 PM on July 19, 2023 [11 favorites]
They sucked his brains out!
Reads like a new Bauhaus EP.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 12:13 PM on July 19, 2023 [11 favorites]
TLDR on the video: as far as "what's the secret industry that was referenced in the NYT article" they don't answer that question. But they do confirm glitter's military use and how glitter's invention is related to the Manhattan Project.
posted by wellifyouinsist at 12:16 PM on July 19, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by wellifyouinsist at 12:16 PM on July 19, 2023 [9 favorites]
Wait, what? They didn't have glitter of some sort in Victorian times? I guess they used ground or flaked glass before that? That's what google is suggesting.
I swear I've seen very very old greeting cards that have glittery parts to them. If they were using ground glass for those greetings cards... wow.
posted by hippybear at 12:19 PM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
I swear I've seen very very old greeting cards that have glittery parts to them. If they were using ground glass for those greetings cards... wow.
posted by hippybear at 12:19 PM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
Watched the video. I think they kind of missed what the Glitterx rep said: "Because they don't want anyone to know that it is glitter.
I don't think the US Government really gives a crap if you know the atomic bomb washers or the radar chaff is made out of glitter. I think that line of pursuit is kind of silly.
I interpreted it differently. There is some mass-produced substance out there that we think is, say, chicken nugget breading and it's really glitter. That's where they need to look next.
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:22 PM on July 19, 2023 [17 favorites]
I don't think the US Government really gives a crap if you know the atomic bomb washers or the radar chaff is made out of glitter. I think that line of pursuit is kind of silly.
I interpreted it differently. There is some mass-produced substance out there that we think is, say, chicken nugget breading and it's really glitter. That's where they need to look next.
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:22 PM on July 19, 2023 [17 favorites]
They were using arsenic in the wallpaper, what’s a little bit of ground glass in your birthday card? However, I suspect that they would have used mica, which has been giving an iridescent effect for a long time.
posted by The River Ivel at 12:22 PM on July 19, 2023 [14 favorites]
posted by The River Ivel at 12:22 PM on July 19, 2023 [14 favorites]
The best theory I've heard goes something like this:
If it's something they can't disclose, it's because consumers or the public would find its use distasteful or shocking, and the use is something that people would not immediately understand to be glitter. It would also have to a massive industry. There is one object that meets all of these criteria: pharmaceutical products.
People wouldn't want to know that drugs they are ingesting are full of glitter and you wouldn't necessarily look at a pill and think there is glitter inside of it, but there is. Ever since I heard that theory and I started looking at medications, and yep, there is definitely a subtle shimmer to a lot of them that looks like glitter.
posted by zug at 12:26 PM on July 19, 2023 [6 favorites]
If it's something they can't disclose, it's because consumers or the public would find its use distasteful or shocking, and the use is something that people would not immediately understand to be glitter. It would also have to a massive industry. There is one object that meets all of these criteria: pharmaceutical products.
People wouldn't want to know that drugs they are ingesting are full of glitter and you wouldn't necessarily look at a pill and think there is glitter inside of it, but there is. Ever since I heard that theory and I started looking at medications, and yep, there is definitely a subtle shimmer to a lot of them that looks like glitter.
posted by zug at 12:26 PM on July 19, 2023 [6 favorites]
But it's not glitter. It's a product made by a precision cutting company. The glitter is a thing they make because they can cut things precisely. They could have a customer in the pharmaceutical market, yes, but that doesn't mean you're swallowing what people think of as glitter.
posted by hippybear at 12:30 PM on July 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 12:30 PM on July 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
I bet it's the automotive industry. A lot of shimmer in car paint!
posted by fussbudget at 12:37 PM on July 19, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by fussbudget at 12:37 PM on July 19, 2023 [6 favorites]
Mica .... drop
posted by chavenet at 12:38 PM on July 19, 2023 [36 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 12:38 PM on July 19, 2023 [36 favorites]
wait...is this why deli-sliced ham is so shiny and iridescent?
posted by mittens at 12:41 PM on July 19, 2023 [19 favorites]
posted by mittens at 12:41 PM on July 19, 2023 [19 favorites]
It is added to gunpowder in commercial ammunition, and also to reloading powder. Tiny little flecks of glitter that are impossible to tell apart from gunpowder with the naked eye and most microscopes available to the public.
Some of the glitter survives the firing of the cartridge, some remains in the gun. There are literally billions of combinations of types, sizes, and shapes of glitter. The government can use this residue to identify who bought the ammo and link the ammo to the gun used in a shooting.
Time to start stockpiling charcoal, saltpeter and sulfur to start make your own black powder if you want to remain untracked.
posted by Dr. Curare at 12:43 PM on July 19, 2023 [11 favorites]
Some of the glitter survives the firing of the cartridge, some remains in the gun. There are literally billions of combinations of types, sizes, and shapes of glitter. The government can use this residue to identify who bought the ammo and link the ammo to the gun used in a shooting.
Time to start stockpiling charcoal, saltpeter and sulfur to start make your own black powder if you want to remain untracked.
posted by Dr. Curare at 12:43 PM on July 19, 2023 [11 favorites]
The theory I bought into last time this came up was recreational boats. Their paint jobs can be super glittery but often purchased by men who would recoil in gay panic if they knew how much glitter went into their fishing boat.
posted by thecjm at 12:46 PM on July 19, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by thecjm at 12:46 PM on July 19, 2023 [5 favorites]
Mica has been in auto/boat paint for a long time but that's usually a ground up/powdered form. I don't think you need a precision cutting company for that.
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:49 PM on July 19, 2023
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:49 PM on July 19, 2023
men who would recoil in gay panic
I always assumed this is why it's called "metal flake" in the marine and automotive paint context.
posted by good in a vacuum at 12:49 PM on July 19, 2023 [27 favorites]
I always assumed this is why it's called "metal flake" in the marine and automotive paint context.
posted by good in a vacuum at 12:49 PM on July 19, 2023 [27 favorites]
Also as per the video, the boat and automotive paint is no secret so doesn't really hold up as the theory of which industry is hiding something. They confirm also that glitter has been used in toothpaste, but really they mean sheets of minty stuff is precision cut into tiny pieces. It seems if it is glitter in food or drugs, it'd be edible glitter, not tiny pieces of plastic.
posted by wellifyouinsist at 12:57 PM on July 19, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by wellifyouinsist at 12:57 PM on July 19, 2023 [6 favorites]
We have plenty of tiny pieces of plastic completely blanketing our environment without having once resorted to precision cutting to create it.
Although now I do wonder where the microabrasives in toothpaste and facial scrubs comes from.
posted by hippybear at 12:59 PM on July 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
Although now I do wonder where the microabrasives in toothpaste and facial scrubs comes from.
posted by hippybear at 12:59 PM on July 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
wait...is this why deli-sliced ham is so shiny and iridescent?
The Atlantic: What causes beef rainbows?
The Meat Science program at Texas A&M gets a little more technical and calls it "birefringence" and offers the following explanation:
The Atlantic: What causes beef rainbows?
The Meat Science program at Texas A&M gets a little more technical and calls it "birefringence" and offers the following explanation:
It is caused by the reflectance of light off of muscle proteins, and it is analogous to the color distribution produced by a prism. Muscle proteins are arranged in strands called myofilaments, which are bound together to form myofibrils. Myofibrils are bound together to form muscle fibers, which form together to form muscle bundles and finally whole muscles. When the myofilaments are cut at the appropriate angle, exposing a cross section of the myofilaments, the reflectance of light off the proteins produces the characteristic appearance associated with iridescence.posted by msbrauer at 1:02 PM on July 19, 2023 [11 favorites]
Its boats!
posted by vincentmeanie at 1:03 PM on July 19, 2023
posted by vincentmeanie at 1:03 PM on July 19, 2023
It's UFOs. UFOs are glitter.
posted by heatherlogan at 1:16 PM on July 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by heatherlogan at 1:16 PM on July 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
I think we all realize by now that the true glitter is the friends we made along the way.
posted by evilDoug at 1:19 PM on July 19, 2023 [15 favorites]
posted by evilDoug at 1:19 PM on July 19, 2023 [15 favorites]
True friends are like glitter.
No matter how much you wash, how much you vacuum, how many times you move house, you will always discover traces of them in your life until you die.
posted by hippybear at 1:22 PM on July 19, 2023 [14 favorites]
No matter how much you wash, how much you vacuum, how many times you move house, you will always discover traces of them in your life until you die.
posted by hippybear at 1:22 PM on July 19, 2023 [14 favorites]
Raver scabies.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 1:25 PM on July 19, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 1:25 PM on July 19, 2023 [6 favorites]
OK, I went to the link to read the NYT article (here, have a link to the latest archive.org) (about which I have thoughts), and found it interesting enough to actually open the YT link, even though it says right on the label that it's almost a half hour, which is about six times my tolerance for things on YT. And here I am, not quite 5 minutes into it, wondering if it's going to be just a half hour of goofy conspiracy theorizing or if ultimately a plausible answer is reached. Because right now, I'm really doubting that the video is worth a half hour of my life.
As for the NYT article, I feel like it says something very sad about our supposedly technologically-advanced society that the Newspaper Of Record feels OK with printing a technical explainer like this. I mean, I know that people don't generally learn about diffraction and interference in high school, but was there some reason to actively avoid explaining them here, at least to point out that there are actual vocabulary words for the phenomena being described? And the asinine observation that the thicknesses of things that differed by tens of nanometers being indistinguishable by touch...
In short, I think the NYT item is a good example of "reasons why people won't pay attention to climate change until the megadeaths start."
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 1:34 PM on July 19, 2023 [6 favorites]
As for the NYT article, I feel like it says something very sad about our supposedly technologically-advanced society that the Newspaper Of Record feels OK with printing a technical explainer like this. I mean, I know that people don't generally learn about diffraction and interference in high school, but was there some reason to actively avoid explaining them here, at least to point out that there are actual vocabulary words for the phenomena being described? And the asinine observation that the thicknesses of things that differed by tens of nanometers being indistinguishable by touch...
In short, I think the NYT item is a good example of "reasons why people won't pay attention to climate change until the megadeaths start."
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 1:34 PM on July 19, 2023 [6 favorites]
There is some mass-produced substance out there that we think is, say, chicken nugget breading and it's really glitter.Pfft. I think it's clear that it's the other way around.
Listen to me, Hatcher... you gotta tell them! Glitter is people!
posted by Flunkie at 1:35 PM on July 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
> Although now I do wonder where the microabrasives in toothpaste and facial scrubs comes from.
I'm pretty sure that toothpaste abrasives are all minerals. The question did lead me on a search that turned up this interesting chart, which I think I shall consult before buying toothpaste again.
Facial scrubs? IDK. People in my house that use them, use compounds of oils and salt or sugar, depending. I think crushed walnut shells can be a thing?
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 1:41 PM on July 19, 2023 [4 favorites]
I'm pretty sure that toothpaste abrasives are all minerals. The question did lead me on a search that turned up this interesting chart, which I think I shall consult before buying toothpaste again.
Facial scrubs? IDK. People in my house that use them, use compounds of oils and salt or sugar, depending. I think crushed walnut shells can be a thing?
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 1:41 PM on July 19, 2023 [4 favorites]
I'm guessing the hush hush client is the company that makes the paper used for US currency or passports.
posted by emelenjr at 1:42 PM on July 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by emelenjr at 1:42 PM on July 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
Mildly curious and being a curmudgeon I came up with The Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015 but I am too lazy a jailhouse lawyer to figure out if it is one of those pieces of legislation that is not really about regulating but is in fact an example of regulatory capture and is primarily to prevent state and local regulation. I am going to guess the glitter is in cosmetics and foods and is somehow cleverly characterized in a way that not only allows it to nimbly pick its way through the letter of the law while holding up a big middle finger to the intent, but also allows it to be named in such an obscure way that it can be called out in an ingredients label without causing a murmur from consumers.
Abusing the edit window to add that security features on money does seem like a good guess too elemenjr.
posted by Pembquist at 1:42 PM on July 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
Abusing the edit window to add that security features on money does seem like a good guess too elemenjr.
posted by Pembquist at 1:42 PM on July 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
I am disappointed. Al Capone's glittery vault.
posted by donpardo at 1:53 PM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by donpardo at 1:53 PM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
The Endless Thread seems to have mostly confirmed that it's boat paint:
"So my source says that their colleague did get confirmation from someone at Glitterex that the largest purchasers of Glitterex glitter are boat manufacturers."
The boat companies don't seem to think it's a huge secret. It does seem like all the secrecy theorizing comes out of a few comments by one person at Glitterex, who could have been wrong, exaggerating, or just messing with the NYT reporter.
posted by justkevin at 1:56 PM on July 19, 2023 [5 favorites]
"So my source says that their colleague did get confirmation from someone at Glitterex that the largest purchasers of Glitterex glitter are boat manufacturers."
The boat companies don't seem to think it's a huge secret. It does seem like all the secrecy theorizing comes out of a few comments by one person at Glitterex, who could have been wrong, exaggerating, or just messing with the NYT reporter.
posted by justkevin at 1:56 PM on July 19, 2023 [5 favorites]
Al Capone's glittery vault
was the best gay speakeasy in all of Chicagoland.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 1:57 PM on July 19, 2023 [17 favorites]
was the best gay speakeasy in all of Chicagoland.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 1:57 PM on July 19, 2023 [17 favorites]
So THAT's where all the plastics in the oceans are coming from. They told us it was drinking straws.
posted by hippybear at 1:58 PM on July 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 1:58 PM on July 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
Al Capone's glittery vault
was the best gay speakeasy in all of Chicagoland.
You're thinking of Alice Capone. More of a lesbian place, really.
posted by hippybear at 1:59 PM on July 19, 2023
was the best gay speakeasy in all of Chicagoland.
You're thinking of Alice Capone. More of a lesbian place, really.
posted by hippybear at 1:59 PM on July 19, 2023
I bet it's the automotive industry. A lot of shimmer in car paint!
It is, amongst a whole bunch of other industries. I'm in the glitter business (kinda), and not only is all the glitter in beauty products the same stuff that's in automotive (and other types) paint, it's literally manufactured by the same people. In fact, lots of them were at the Las Vegas Convention Center last week for the CosmoProf beauty show. And they will be back for whatever convention happens for people who make automotive paint.
Not because of any nefarious purpose, put because in the end you are just making various sizes of particles created via physical vapor deposition on mica (or whatever, the physics part is outside my realm and after awhile the manufacture catalogs just run together, I'm just involved in the nail art supply biz), and sometimes you put it in paint, sometimes you put it resin, sometimes you make it real big and kids use it with white glue and poster board, etc.
posted by Back At It Again At Krispy Kreme at 2:01 PM on July 19, 2023 [18 favorites]
It is, amongst a whole bunch of other industries. I'm in the glitter business (kinda), and not only is all the glitter in beauty products the same stuff that's in automotive (and other types) paint, it's literally manufactured by the same people. In fact, lots of them were at the Las Vegas Convention Center last week for the CosmoProf beauty show. And they will be back for whatever convention happens for people who make automotive paint.
Not because of any nefarious purpose, put because in the end you are just making various sizes of particles created via physical vapor deposition on mica (or whatever, the physics part is outside my realm and after awhile the manufacture catalogs just run together, I'm just involved in the nail art supply biz), and sometimes you put it in paint, sometimes you put it resin, sometimes you make it real big and kids use it with white glue and poster board, etc.
posted by Back At It Again At Krispy Kreme at 2:01 PM on July 19, 2023 [18 favorites]
Oh, I have some glitter nail polish and that hadn't even entered my mind.
I note you didn't mention glitter bombs. Perhaps this is the forbidden glitter manufacturing subject. ;)
posted by hippybear at 2:06 PM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
I note you didn't mention glitter bombs. Perhaps this is the forbidden glitter manufacturing subject. ;)
posted by hippybear at 2:06 PM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
Inactive ingredients in drugs (aka excipients) are listed in the prescribing information, which comes in a little folded paper along with the product container. These can also be found online. Nothing goes into pharmaceuticals that hasn’t been specifically approved for that purpose by the FDA, an organization that is not exactly known for its sense of whimsy.
posted by dephlogisticated at 2:29 PM on July 19, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by dephlogisticated at 2:29 PM on July 19, 2023 [4 favorites]
I got some Disney glitter overcoat paint and painted stuff outside with it, including the window trim on my home. 95% not nearly glittery enough, would not buy again.
Also are we sure it's not Homer Simpson? Ok maybe not, he only spends $500 a year on body glitter.
posted by The_Vegetables at 2:32 PM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
Also are we sure it's not Homer Simpson? Ok maybe not, he only spends $500 a year on body glitter.
posted by The_Vegetables at 2:32 PM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
@dephlogisticated :
Do you suppose it would be called "glitter" on the ingredients list? Aluminum metalized polyethylene terephthalate, did you look for that?
Though now I write it out, that just does not seem right. Phthalates as widely-used inactive ingredients? Doesn't pass the smell test.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 2:50 PM on July 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
Do you suppose it would be called "glitter" on the ingredients list? Aluminum metalized polyethylene terephthalate, did you look for that?
Though now I write it out, that just does not seem right. Phthalates as widely-used inactive ingredients? Doesn't pass the smell test.
posted by Aardvark Cheeselog at 2:50 PM on July 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
Had no idea this was a mystery let alone "the internet's biggest mystery". Watched the whole thing and still don't give a shit. Who cares about this?
Why would glitter be in medicine? You think the pharmaceutical companies want to put things in the drugs that aren't medicinal so that they'll cost more to produce? You think people are enticed to take their meds because they're shiny? No one that doesn't want to eat a pill does so because it's shiny. They take them because they want to feel better.
Sometimes the internet is a stupid place.
/grump
posted by dobbs at 2:56 PM on July 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
Why would glitter be in medicine? You think the pharmaceutical companies want to put things in the drugs that aren't medicinal so that they'll cost more to produce? You think people are enticed to take their meds because they're shiny? No one that doesn't want to eat a pill does so because it's shiny. They take them because they want to feel better.
Sometimes the internet is a stupid place.
/grump
posted by dobbs at 2:56 PM on July 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
There needs to be a law describing this kind of video title
posted by Going To Maine at 2:59 PM on July 19, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by Going To Maine at 2:59 PM on July 19, 2023 [8 favorites]
The idea of precision cutting doesn't apply to just things that are shiny plastic. They could be cutting up anything to precision sizes. If you're interpreting any of this as simply being about craft supplies, you're not grasping that these aren't glitter companies, they're precision cutting companies.
posted by hippybear at 3:01 PM on July 19, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 3:01 PM on July 19, 2023 [7 favorites]
There needs to be a law describing this kind of video title
Describing, proscribing, or prescribing?
posted by hippybear at 3:02 PM on July 19, 2023
Describing, proscribing, or prescribing?
posted by hippybear at 3:02 PM on July 19, 2023
Gary?
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 3:07 PM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 3:07 PM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
I found this to be a really interesting video. I think the answer it gives, which they’re waiting to confirm, is largely convincing.
And glitter being a product that was an accidental side product of atom bomb manufacturing is a hell of a factoid to drop casually into conversation.
posted by Kattullus at 3:39 PM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
And glitter being a product that was an accidental side product of atom bomb manufacturing is a hell of a factoid to drop casually into conversation.
posted by Kattullus at 3:39 PM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
What causes beef rainbows?
Meat rays refracting off beef droplets in the atmosphere
posted by jason_steakums at 3:53 PM on July 19, 2023 [31 favorites]
Meat rays refracting off beef droplets in the atmosphere
posted by jason_steakums at 3:53 PM on July 19, 2023 [31 favorites]
Yes, I want an answer, but, no I won't be held hostage like this! I forget about it until these articles or posts come up. Back to my amnesia goo tank, thank you very much.
posted by atomicstone at 4:12 PM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by atomicstone at 4:12 PM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
Can anyone summarize this unnecessarily long video? What is their pending answer?
Inferring from the discussion, I like the gunpowder idea but I thought that was widely known. I recall watching some sort of documentary or news program that discussed it at least a decade ago.
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 4:14 PM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
Inferring from the discussion, I like the gunpowder idea but I thought that was widely known. I recall watching some sort of documentary or news program that discussed it at least a decade ago.
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 4:14 PM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
Old glitter was chopped tin foil. Christmas tree tinsel used to be sliced tin foil, we still had some when I was young. Tin, I think, not aluminum. Old glitter might have been lead; cheap and sort of shiny. It took ages to recognize the dangers of lead poisoning and regulate it. Regulation is your friend, over and over. Plastic is a relatively new product, but the desire for shiny things is old.
I guess the video is a sendup of Shocking Great Internet Mystery videos? Cause it was long, had annoying 'suspenseful' music, annoying narration and presenters. and apparently an ad for a company that helps people make annoying videos. Annoying and not worth finishing.
I tried to look up lead in glitter; google is on a sharp downhill slide.
posted by theora55 at 4:40 PM on July 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
I guess the video is a sendup of Shocking Great Internet Mystery videos? Cause it was long, had annoying 'suspenseful' music, annoying narration and presenters. and apparently an ad for a company that helps people make annoying videos. Annoying and not worth finishing.
I tried to look up lead in glitter; google is on a sharp downhill slide.
posted by theora55 at 4:40 PM on July 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
I am glad I paused the video after a couple minutes and read the thread. Consensus seems to be that the whole thing does not payoff in a big reveal?
posted by 3j0hn at 5:07 PM on July 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by 3j0hn at 5:07 PM on July 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
I thought the reveal was interesting. I appreciated that the video makers didn’t go further than they could prove, but I do realize that for some that’s not a feature but a bug.
posted by Kattullus at 5:21 PM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Kattullus at 5:21 PM on July 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
Henry Rushmann seems to be the godfather of modern glitter.
Can you even imagine what his house was like?
posted by gottabefunky at 6:42 PM on July 19, 2023
Can you even imagine what his house was like?
posted by gottabefunky at 6:42 PM on July 19, 2023
I'm not sure it's quite a nothingburger, but I DO think that most of the ~~mystery~~ around this comes from the wording from the one comment from a GlitterX employee: "they don't want you to know it's glitter".
The first question you have to ask is "what is glitter" – is anything produced by GlitterX glitter? Or is glitter "the small reflective plastic flakes you buy in the craft store"? Because if it's the former then the quote in question is imo less than useless – "they don't want you to know that X is chopped up thin film of unknown nature" isn't that interesting, and I think is very hard to make shocking. "OMG there's glitter in sparkly toothpaste!!" Okay, that's edible glitter, and … how do you think they make it sparkly?? If we're just talking about a relatively fungible industrial process it's hard to figure out what would be so shocking. Even things like passports and money – how else would the gov't make things sparkly like that? It just doesn't really track to me as a scandalous thing. And if "glitter" doesn't even mean "shiny", just "chopped up film" then … it could be anything and it would not be shocking at all.
If it's the latter (glitter is the stuff you buy in the craft store) then … it could point at something interesting, I guess – if someone was putting plastic glitter in food, or if it turns out that, actually, iPhones are made using some novel industrial process that begins with plastic glitter?
All that said, since this is a lot of activity based on a single quote, it's worth quoting it in full here so we can beanplate this correctly:
And really I will not be surprised by anything manmade that "glitters" having glitter in it. So my final suggestion is that it's something that we think of as natural, or primarily natural, but is actually augmented by glitter – gems? sparkly granite? THE STARS??
posted by wemayfreeze at 7:19 PM on July 19, 2023 [9 favorites]
The first question you have to ask is "what is glitter" – is anything produced by GlitterX glitter? Or is glitter "the small reflective plastic flakes you buy in the craft store"? Because if it's the former then the quote in question is imo less than useless – "they don't want you to know that X is chopped up thin film of unknown nature" isn't that interesting, and I think is very hard to make shocking. "OMG there's glitter in sparkly toothpaste!!" Okay, that's edible glitter, and … how do you think they make it sparkly?? If we're just talking about a relatively fungible industrial process it's hard to figure out what would be so shocking. Even things like passports and money – how else would the gov't make things sparkly like that? It just doesn't really track to me as a scandalous thing. And if "glitter" doesn't even mean "shiny", just "chopped up film" then … it could be anything and it would not be shocking at all.
If it's the latter (glitter is the stuff you buy in the craft store) then … it could point at something interesting, I guess – if someone was putting plastic glitter in food, or if it turns out that, actually, iPhones are made using some novel industrial process that begins with plastic glitter?
All that said, since this is a lot of activity based on a single quote, it's worth quoting it in full here so we can beanplate this correctly:
When I asked Ms. Dyer if she could tell me which industry served as Glitterex’s biggest market, her answer was instant: “No, I absolutely know that I can’t.”Boats are a weak answer here, especially since she directs the journalist to the automotive pigments.
I was taken aback. “But you know what it is?”
“Oh, God, yes,” she said, and laughed. “And you would never guess it. Let’s just leave it at that.” I asked if she could tell me why she couldn’t tell me. “Because they don’t want anyone to know that it’s glitter.”
“If I looked at it, I wouldn’t know it was glitter?”
“No, not really.”
“Would I be able to see the glitter?”
“Oh, you’d be able to see something. But it’s — yeah, I can’t.”
I asked if she would tell me off the record. She would not. I asked if she would tell me off the record after this piece was published. She would not. I told her I couldn’t die without knowing. She guided me to the automotive grade pigments.
And really I will not be surprised by anything manmade that "glitters" having glitter in it. So my final suggestion is that it's something that we think of as natural, or primarily natural, but is actually augmented by glitter – gems? sparkly granite? THE STARS??
posted by wemayfreeze at 7:19 PM on July 19, 2023 [9 favorites]
"Glitter is in everything. Did we solve it? Stay tuned!"
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 8:19 PM on July 19, 2023
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 8:19 PM on July 19, 2023
Way back when the internet first asked "who's 'they' and why don't they want anyone to know what is glitter?", I loved it. Great little harmless mystery, I thought.
After seeing the same discussion a number of times in various places, with more or less the same guesses and counterpoints, I now understand that this is actually a painfully Sisyphean allegory for the hopeless quest to find meaning in life. Some questions can never be answered to our satisfaction... nevertheless, we are doomed to eternal rumination.
I want to get off Glitterex's wild ride.
posted by Baethan at 8:23 PM on July 19, 2023 [8 favorites]
After seeing the same discussion a number of times in various places, with more or less the same guesses and counterpoints, I now understand that this is actually a painfully Sisyphean allegory for the hopeless quest to find meaning in life. Some questions can never be answered to our satisfaction... nevertheless, we are doomed to eternal rumination.
I want to get off Glitterex's wild ride.
posted by Baethan at 8:23 PM on July 19, 2023 [8 favorites]
> I am glad I paused the video after a couple minutes and read the thread. Consensus seems to be that the whole thing does not payoff in a big reveal?
The interview with the grandson (?) of the glitter guy was actually pretty interesting, and had a few reveals. Link to exact spot in video (watch at 2X speed).
The "reveal" such as it is, is mostly that that "glitter" industry is actually the "precision cutting industry" and precision is involved with a lot more really interesting stuff than you might think, including several of the most influential inventions/technologies of the last 100 years or so. The other "reveal" is that yes, all the industries listed in the "massive glitter user candidates list" are indeed, massive users of glitter (or to be more precise, precision cut materials of a somewhat staggering variety of types) and the largest user of all might be the U.S. military-industrial complex, though that is all by purchases from dozens of different military contractors for dozens of different reasons and uses, so it's not exactly like there is a Czar of Glitter out there stationed in the secretest part of the CIA, managing the massive U.S. Strategic Glitter Stockpile buried safely in a giant cavern 12 miles below the stablest portion of the continental craton somewhere in North Dakota, and ready to be pulled out just in the nick of time to avoid the upcoming collapse of civilization. It's more like, precision-cut small stuff is pretty useful for a wide variety of things, and therefore it is purchased in large quantities for many different reasons.
Also, the precision-cut small stuff doesn't have to be plastic at all, it can be a whole bunch of different stuff including things you wouldn't necessarily suspect, so nobody has to waste their time getting all huffy about "they're putting plastic in my drugs," "they're putting plastic in my underarm deodorant," "they're putting plastic in my strawberry jam," etc. There could very well be "glitter" in all those things (or, more precisely precision-cut materials of some sort, could just as well be food grade and/or biodegradable), and yet no plastic at all.
Sorry if I have spoiled the reveal for anyone . . .
posted by flug at 8:41 PM on July 19, 2023 [13 favorites]
The interview with the grandson (?) of the glitter guy was actually pretty interesting, and had a few reveals. Link to exact spot in video (watch at 2X speed).
The "reveal" such as it is, is mostly that that "glitter" industry is actually the "precision cutting industry" and precision is involved with a lot more really interesting stuff than you might think, including several of the most influential inventions/technologies of the last 100 years or so. The other "reveal" is that yes, all the industries listed in the "massive glitter user candidates list" are indeed, massive users of glitter (or to be more precise, precision cut materials of a somewhat staggering variety of types) and the largest user of all might be the U.S. military-industrial complex, though that is all by purchases from dozens of different military contractors for dozens of different reasons and uses, so it's not exactly like there is a Czar of Glitter out there stationed in the secretest part of the CIA, managing the massive U.S. Strategic Glitter Stockpile buried safely in a giant cavern 12 miles below the stablest portion of the continental craton somewhere in North Dakota, and ready to be pulled out just in the nick of time to avoid the upcoming collapse of civilization. It's more like, precision-cut small stuff is pretty useful for a wide variety of things, and therefore it is purchased in large quantities for many different reasons.
Also, the precision-cut small stuff doesn't have to be plastic at all, it can be a whole bunch of different stuff including things you wouldn't necessarily suspect, so nobody has to waste their time getting all huffy about "they're putting plastic in my drugs," "they're putting plastic in my underarm deodorant," "they're putting plastic in my strawberry jam," etc. There could very well be "glitter" in all those things (or, more precisely precision-cut materials of some sort, could just as well be food grade and/or biodegradable), and yet no plastic at all.
Sorry if I have spoiled the reveal for anyone . . .
posted by flug at 8:41 PM on July 19, 2023 [13 favorites]
Really, everything on earth could be glitter if you could execute precision cutting on it....
posted by hippybear at 8:58 PM on July 19, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 8:58 PM on July 19, 2023 [7 favorites]
@emalenjr -- I do know that a specific color of Chessex "Borealis" dice is different than it used to be, because the shimmer powder that was used in it was adopted for use in paper currency (Euros) and was no longer available on the market. This may have affected more than one color, but the one I'm sure about is Royal Purple w/ Gold.
posted by verbminx at 10:27 PM on July 19, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by verbminx at 10:27 PM on July 19, 2023 [4 favorites]
(did I read my own link? not all of it! it actually goes into great detail about which colors have been replaced and how.)
posted by verbminx at 10:33 PM on July 19, 2023
posted by verbminx at 10:33 PM on July 19, 2023
Metafilter: a painfully Sisyphean allegory for the hopeless quest to find meaning in life
posted by dephlogisticated at 10:34 PM on July 19, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by dephlogisticated at 10:34 PM on July 19, 2023 [4 favorites]
Time to start stockpiling charcoal, saltpeter and sulfur to start make your own black powder if you want to remain untracked.
Or just stop firing guns.
posted by Dysk at 1:45 AM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
Or just stop firing guns.
posted by Dysk at 1:45 AM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
Who cares about this?
Many many people, thanks to the heroic PR work of one unsung genius of guff on the telephone.
"What is it? Can't tell you, THEY don't want you to know."
Toss in some folksy scions of Big Glitter, the totally adorbs New Jersey duopoly, the miracles of the atomic age, the 'put those cameras away' security incident, secret military usage, boat shows and a sparkly envelope stuffed with exploding speculation and bam! free publicity everywhere that just never gets out of the carpet.
[my theory is that GlitterX is secretly owned by Elon Musk and that Musk himself is made of 47% glitter and needs to replace it on the regular too keep up his childish good looks, and this he himself is the biggest customer, which he wants to keep secret, natch.]
posted by chavenet at 2:55 AM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
Many many people, thanks to the heroic PR work of one unsung genius of guff on the telephone.
"What is it? Can't tell you, THEY don't want you to know."
Toss in some folksy scions of Big Glitter, the totally adorbs New Jersey duopoly, the miracles of the atomic age, the 'put those cameras away' security incident, secret military usage, boat shows and a sparkly envelope stuffed with exploding speculation and bam! free publicity everywhere that just never gets out of the carpet.
[my theory is that GlitterX is secretly owned by Elon Musk and that Musk himself is made of 47% glitter and needs to replace it on the regular too keep up his childish good looks, and this he himself is the biggest customer, which he wants to keep secret, natch.]
posted by chavenet at 2:55 AM on July 20, 2023 [2 favorites]
There needs to be a law describing this kind of video title
The one about diminishing returns comes to mind.
posted by Paul Slade at 4:49 AM on July 20, 2023
The one about diminishing returns comes to mind.
posted by Paul Slade at 4:49 AM on July 20, 2023
Unless GlitterX glitter is made of biodegradable cellulose it is probably in paint, particularly vehicle paint but a lot of paint has plastic in it.
posted by Ashwagandha at 8:27 AM on July 20, 2023
posted by Ashwagandha at 8:27 AM on July 20, 2023
Mica is a very useful mineral, and ground mica is in all sorts of things. As was discovered by accident during the Manhattan project, mica dust is well, very glittery.
Mica is heavily used in electronics manufacture, as its an excellent electrical and thermal insulator, though it's also often used in plate form as opposed to glitter style.
Another big use is in paint; as already discussed, automotive and boat paint in particular. Any pearlescent or metallic paint is almost certainly using some form of glitter (whether ground mica or another type), from car bodies to fake metallic painted plastic pipes in your bathroom fittings. The construction industry uses an utterly huge amount - it's a key component of joint compound (used when e.g. fitting drywall), and even in fake roof tiles. It's used in various plastics to add stiffness - such as car facias, and bumpers/fenders too, so overall the automotive industry is a big user.
There's many uses in the cosmetics industry of course, for its reflective/glitter effects, but also to make more effective anti-wrinkle creams, abrasives for toothpaste, or just make shampoo look nicer in an transparent plastic bottle, but the volume is not as large as the other three.
Glitterex though apparently specialise in precisely cutting up bits of plastic to make artificial glitter as opposed to digging up mica from poor parts of India and China; so it won't be in the same proportion lists of use as mica, because that's used primarily for its cosmetic reflective effect as opposed to say, helping make your house walls (or skin!) smoother and avoiding cracking or helping make your iphone work.
posted by Absolutely No You-Know-What at 8:51 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
Mica is heavily used in electronics manufacture, as its an excellent electrical and thermal insulator, though it's also often used in plate form as opposed to glitter style.
Another big use is in paint; as already discussed, automotive and boat paint in particular. Any pearlescent or metallic paint is almost certainly using some form of glitter (whether ground mica or another type), from car bodies to fake metallic painted plastic pipes in your bathroom fittings. The construction industry uses an utterly huge amount - it's a key component of joint compound (used when e.g. fitting drywall), and even in fake roof tiles. It's used in various plastics to add stiffness - such as car facias, and bumpers/fenders too, so overall the automotive industry is a big user.
There's many uses in the cosmetics industry of course, for its reflective/glitter effects, but also to make more effective anti-wrinkle creams, abrasives for toothpaste, or just make shampoo look nicer in an transparent plastic bottle, but the volume is not as large as the other three.
Glitterex though apparently specialise in precisely cutting up bits of plastic to make artificial glitter as opposed to digging up mica from poor parts of India and China; so it won't be in the same proportion lists of use as mica, because that's used primarily for its cosmetic reflective effect as opposed to say, helping make your house walls (or skin!) smoother and avoiding cracking or helping make your iphone work.
posted by Absolutely No You-Know-What at 8:51 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
The fact that SO MANY people are willing to keep this a secret, the way they were so protective of the manufacturing site, that we know there are government contractors involved and that it was invented as a DoD project makes it seem like the biggest customer is a military arms manufacturer like Raytheon or Lockheed that uses some form of glitter in coatings for military vehicles and equipment.
It's classified so if they talk about it and the government finds out about it, they go to jail and everyone is very careful about how they word what they are willing to divulge.
It's so secret because it's classified military information seems so much more likely than anything else to me.
posted by VTX at 9:40 AM on July 20, 2023
It's classified so if they talk about it and the government finds out about it, they go to jail and everyone is very careful about how they word what they are willing to divulge.
It's so secret because it's classified military information seems so much more likely than anything else to me.
posted by VTX at 9:40 AM on July 20, 2023
Putting all this together leads me to believe that the largest consumer of glitter is Mar-a-Lago.
posted by TedW at 10:51 AM on July 20, 2023
posted by TedW at 10:51 AM on July 20, 2023
On more serious note, it is worth noting that another offshoot of the Manhattan Project was the development of halogenated anesthetics, which continue to be the most commonly used drugs for general anesthesia decades later.
posted by TedW at 11:02 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by TedW at 11:02 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
Musk himself is made of 47% glitter and needs to replace it on the regular too keep up his childish good looks
childish good looks?? If this is the working theory I'd merit that his supply has been completely exhausted for quite some time now
posted by FatherDagon at 11:03 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
childish good looks?? If this is the working theory I'd merit that his supply has been completely exhausted for quite some time now
posted by FatherDagon at 11:03 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
Musk's "childish good looks" are so obviously the product of plastic surgery for anyone who knows what to look for... You can find photos of him from much earlier in his life and look at his face today and... wow.
posted by hippybear at 11:05 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 11:05 AM on July 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
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I'll go watch the thing now.
posted by hippybear at 11:42 AM on July 19, 2023 [8 favorites]