Also thanks to Dan Benton, Ed Jones, Vanessa Patrick and Jerry Mande for sharing their expertise and helping to shape this episode as we fell down the glitter rabbit hole. Works in Washington at the Teal Group doing aviation technology analysis. She added that you'd see some trace of glitter if you knew what it was. Joe: This could be vehicle paint for planes or boats or whatever, but in my mind it has to be glitter that sits in a liquid medium [because it] requires a lot more glitter. I mean, you can tap it and it's extremely hard. a rollicking dispatch from the Glitterex glitter factory, millions of tiny aluminum- or zinc-coated fibers, protect spacecraft from the temperature extremes. A staple of successful children's parties and strip clubs, yet the bane of the ocean's existence, the masked devil that is glitter has drawn controversy, and rightfully so, as this manufactured plastic dustnever biodegrades. Something that we sell now we were selling for three or four times the amount per kilogram. And customers are not buying one kilogram. Do you think youre up for it? Ben: Are you gonna tell us that Blue Velvet is gonna be out but Ocean Spray is gonna be in in 2025, or something like that? To make it hard to counterfeit and give it a cool look. Its a long process. A man after my own heart. And you would never guess it. For some people, that mysterious "no comment" is whatever. David: I have peaches, pears and apples. Ben: Very shiny. Ben: Greg also made a prediction: that its totally possible the answer to our fundamental question is boring. Ben: One of the more popular shadowy theories is that glitter is used by the military. We think its paint but results from our paint experts are fundamentally inconclusive. Something we had already been talking about. Ben: David Boeri is probably known best for spending many years as WBURs senior investigative reporter. Brannon: Think of it like a paint almost. Another mystery. Josh: But it's not high volume. And youre listening to Endless Thread. This is how it plays out in the piece: Ben: Can you tell me which industry serves as Glitterexs biggest market? More and more competition from China and Taiwan, perhaps thanks to the machine that his dad sold decades ago. Alex: I think the biggest is that it's made of plastic. Amory: The me in this case is Richard Aboulafia. Joe: My father compared the margins to cocaine! And compared to other uses of glitter or greeting cards and Christmas ornaments and the cosmetic industry, the volume is way more that goes into a boat. Money. Josh Crane Twitter Producer, Podcasts & New ProgramsJosh is a producer for podcasts and new programs at WBUR. So Amory, what have we learned? So people on the thread really dig in. music, sound effects, tone) are harder to translate to text. But the real mystery moment comes when the company rep wont tell Caity what industry is the biggest customer of Glitterex. Joe: My father quickly discovered that when he inquired about how much he could sell these machines for, people were offering large sums of money mainly to break the machine down and clone it. Several theories exist on what the product might be, such as bombs, as a means to track where they've exploded or car paint, though most people wouldn't mind if glitter was in car paint, and it's safe to say most people have already assumed so. But for us, it's CATNIP. Ben: Essentially, that's what we're doing. Then theres very very very expensive flakes. Earlier in the decade, online reviewers attested that Crest-brand3D White Vivid toothpaste contained small plastic particles that were getting logged in brushers teeth and gums. But, like, translated to German Joe: Yeah. Amory: It still struck us as weird that glitter as an industry is so secretive. Amory: Caity Weaver is describing getting a tour of a glitter making company in New Jersey called Glitterex, which people at the company were really hesitant to give in the first place. Ben: 10 30-gallon drums of glitter per week! Jeet: I'm sorry, we're not interested in doing any interviews or anything like that. John: Wow, I have never never been called an oracle or even like an oracle. One is called Glitterex. John: And I manage an automotive OEM, which is original equipment manufacturing, color styling lab in Cleveland, Ohio for PPG industries. Amory: In this front office by the way is a big glass case proudly displaying all of the products that Glitterexs glitter is in. Ben: This was around 1999. David: Amory. There's a reason that cars in the sun look really nice. Ben: If we get into some kind of trouble, will you pick up the phone if we call? Getting used to it. Small manufacturers protect client information to protect business. Ben: So you're not convinced that your daughter's packet of glitter is somehow involved in tens of millions of dollars of military equipment, maybe hundreds of millions? Amory: We go there on a Monday. And so I present to you a half-baked Friday afternoon inquiry: seven potential industrial uses of glitter (hat tip to sleuths on Twitter and Reddit) where the clients might not want you to know they were working with a glitter company. Its going to feel good. Ben: Oooh mysterious! David: But you know, if you turn over enough rocks, you will find the slugs, the worms and the glitter. Maybe what's, Another use that's been argued is sand. Amory: Were coming to you from WBUR, Bostons NPR station. If there is space in between then the effect is not as brilliant. Amory: Were doing a story about the glitter industry. And we started calling people, trying to knock a few of the crazy theories out. The other one is Meadowbrook Inventions. Ben (in car with Amory): God, this is suburbia. (laughter). And we buy from their distributors. Ben: You also noticed that comedian Demetri Martin has something on this same topic. Amory: Okay, so you're intimately acquainted with glitter it sounds like. Boat paint. Me too. Zach: I was like, "Oh man it's something it's something unusual. So I used to work for a bass boat manufacturer back in the 90s and we bought it in 30-gallon drums, probably 10 of those drums a week. -The r/UnresolvedMysteries post about the glitter mystery-Joe Coburn's glitter manufacturer AMA, -"What Is Glitter," by Caity Weaver in The New York Times Magazine (12/21/18). He's on the phone with someone. We got someone on the inside! Just trying it out. It's Boston local news in one concise, fun and informative email. The next day, we continued to search through the thread of comments on Reddit for clues. But because they are a Glitterex client, this source had a colleague who went to Glitterex for a normal supplier meeting and they poked into it on our behalf. It would attract attention not avoid it. Ben: Not gonna lie. And he builds a glitter company in Germany with a fleet of new machines. The ultimate cage match between Tonight Show hosts. Ben: OK. We need another authority. And after all our work, if he sits down atop a mountain of glitter with his dad, Babu, and they listen to the episode, Id like to hope they wouldnt even be mad at us. The world is running out of sand, in case you needed one more thing to worry about, so the construction industry is increasingly turning to manufactured sand (very fine crushed rock) as a component of concrete. Amory: Dont get ahead of yourself, glitter boy. They use something called effect pigments.. Ben: Jeet seems like a nice guy. In the Dec. 21 New York Times, Caity Weaver has a rollicking dispatch from the Glitterex glitter factory, which reveals the true nature of glitteraluminum metalized polyethylene terephthalatebefore hinting at a greater mystery: a top-secret industrial glitter use that accounts for most of the companys sales. But what's so secretive about shiny particles? , dollar bills are also a possibility. Amory: Joes family is rooted in the Northeast with connections to The Garden State or, shall we say, the glitter state. These glitter particles are so thin and the desired effect is not to have particles spread out where you see just paint and then just glitter. Glitter? Glitter is the herpes of craft supplies. Ben: The answer to the last question is apparently, everywhere, which we will talk more about. According to her, because the company does not want people to know under any circumstance that they're using glitter. Our email to Jeet. Glitter in money. (TheNational Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Servicecouldnt be reached for comment; its closed because of the government shutdown.). Don't hesitate to reach out with reactions to episodes, ideas for future stories, feedback about the show, or just to say hi. Amory: Dont hold your breath on that one. To help identify people whove been pepper sprayed? Ben: Okay, I wanna shoutout former Endless Thread Intern Noah Baustin who found this Reddit post and the resulting comment thread. All of a sudden, his fists go up in the air triumphantly. Fishing bait. Ben: That's what we're here for, right? David: Yeah. And so I started hanging out in the watering holes. An older one. Could the sand industry be spiking M-sand with glitter in search of the natural sparkle of Key Weststyle quartz sand for cosmetic uses like concrete floors, walls, or countertops? I've also read that thread on the Glitterex article. Ben: It was a long drive back to Boston. But then there's the more subtle approach of stealing the garbage, of doing dumpster dives and then opening the bag when you get home to find out what you might see in there Ben: Again, all of these ideas are a little dicey. Ben: Boaty McBoatface! Ben: Were talking to Joe Coburn, who used to work at his familys glitter company. David: I'd start in the basic gumshoe arena. Amory: Im Amory Sivertson. My first thought was that, yes this was something that if people found out it was glitter there'd be a little mini freak out and the industry would have to do damage control. Still a mystery. Ben: Alright, I love this. Ben: Even though Joes dad was way out in Mohlsdorf-Teichwolframsdorf, as soon as he put out the word that he had some glitter making machines, people were knocking down his door. Jers suburbs. Toothpaste. Ben: Ohhhh! A couple of dorks with a lot of hope! Amory: Maybe, its part of a cloaking paint for vehicles used in the US military. Amory: And we asked him about his mysterious fleet of glitter making machines. Okay. Ben: And, folks, these boat companies are using a lot of glitter. Slate is published by The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. John: No, I don't believe that glitter would be a primary offering from those companies. Alex: We do have one machine that has a name. Joe: We're talking like 120,000 to 140,000 , somewhere in there was a price that he asked for and could get almost sight unseen. This would also distinguish counterfeit money from, you know- realglitterymoney. What's happening? Amory: Or they will welcome us with open arms and tell us all their secrets. The movie leaves out the comics' inter-species romance and super-pet abuse, for some reason. Its none of these wacky things. Inspired by a New York Times feature about glitter last year, people have obsessed over identifying the mysterious industry buying huge amounts of glitter information which glitter-makers have now famously refused to divulge. COPYRIGHT 2005-2022 Cracked is published by Literally media Ltd., A staple of successful children's parties and strip clubs, yet the bane of the ocean's existence, the masked devil that is glitter has drawn controversy, and rightfully so, as this manufactured plastic dust. I have a few sources in the paint industry who have gotten as excited about answering this mystery as we have been. All of them seemed like good, if dicey, ideas. The glitter may help with aesthetic purposes if anything. Ben: Closed industry doesnt sound good and it matches what weve learned about glitter so far. But what a company like Glitterex is withholding is an innocent question and one that is of genuine interest to the public:Who is your biggest buyer? In part because the paint or pigment industry was getting better and better at making cheaper products. We're trying to answer this question for thousands and thousands of Redditors. Voicemail recording: Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system. Thanks to SneakyBunny84 for this week's artwork. Amory: This was an Ask Me Anything thread. Richard: Not so much because I think the last I bought my daughter some purple glitter that's her favorite color it cost a couple of bucks and the science of radar absorbing materials is extremely exacting! Nope. Maybe, but the vast majority of concrete never has to meet any aesthetic standard at all. The ingredient was safe, P&G insisted, and to the extent it made people like brushing their teeth, it led to healthier dental outcomes.
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