Something like that. Glitter is certainly a component in many plastic fishing lures, but its not a secret, and Im not sure why it would be. But we need you to help us investigate the origins and largest buyers of glitter. I just talked to the guy who has the answers about glitter! It's that building. He says he just wasnt into spending time in the boondocks of Germany. They declined to comment. But the biggest question that pops up: who buys it? Ben: Even worse, Alex told us he was skeptical of the car paint theory. 
Ben: Alright, I love this. For a company known as Glitterex in New Jersey, one of two of the largest glitter-making companies in the world, glitter proves to be a secretive, suspicious business. Still a mystery.
Ben: Were talking to Joe Coburn, who used to work at his familys glitter company. All of a sudden, his fists go up in the air triumphantly. Effect pigments are basically highly engineered glitter in powder or flake form that add depth and complexity to whatever paint theyre in. Our username is. But he wouldnt let them get close enough to understand how the machine worked. Voicemail recording: You have reached the voicemail of Nathan Long. Glitter is the herpes of craft supplies. A lot of it ends up in the ocean accidentally. Amory: No, I absolutely know that I cant. Ben: So were not playing it super cool, like muckraker reporters who are playing the long game. Somebody comes to the door of the waiting area. Can you pass the milk and cookies? The glitter may help with aesthetic purposes if anything. You know, one of the great answers to one of the questions I once asked was, "I don't know the answer to that question, but I think I know someone who does.". Ben: Joe Coburn, from the Coburn family glitter business RJA Plastics did say he would put us in touch with the current business owner, his younger brother, Alex. 
Amory (in car): It looked like the building! But, previously, there was a family glitter business that my father started in Germany. Zach: I was like, "Oh man it's something it's something unusual. Ben: Yes. The idea is that you see nothing but glitter. Ben: Greg also made a prediction: that its totally possible the answer to our fundamental question is boring. Amory: Were doing a story about the glitter industry. Thanks to SneakyBunny84 for this week's artwork. Jeet: Yes.
Theyre on vacation too. Amory: Basically, all sorts of car companies, from Audi to Volkswagen, hire paint companies like PPG to make paint for their cars. Currently I own a casting company with my wife. And we started calling people, trying to knock a few of the crazy theories out. But he knows a lot about the business. Amory: Oh, God, yes. Or maybe someone was dumping it into beach sand to make their resort beach sparkle more. Seems like were headed in the right direction. Ben: This is John Thomas (no relation to Rob Thomas). Were just kind of bumbling in the front door. We make solid colors and we also make clears that they can mix different things into to give different effects, whether it's glitter or an automotive metallic. Josh: I think the next step is probably just to call up as many boat manufacturers as humanly possible. This would also distinguish counterfeit money from, you know- real, 15 Back-To-School Movies and TV Episodes to Finish Summer Break, Why You'll Never Buy A Home | Honest Ads (VIDEO), DC's Original League Of Super-Pets Was Insane, The Tonight Show: 20 Fav Moments From Allen To Fallon, THE WORLD'S BIGGEST GLITTER BUYER IS A BIZARRE MYSTERY. Everyone knows NASAs Space Launch System uses aluminum powder (along with ammonium perchlorate) as solid rocket fuel. I am an independent writer. In the industry, these are all effect pigments. Amory: It still struck us as weird that glitter as an industry is so secretive. Ben: Jeet seems like a nice guy. Amory: Not beach sand, not military technology, not strip clubs you know, I was really hoping it was going to be something else. So lets call one of those muckrakers up. Passports? Jeet: I'm sorry, we're not interested in doing any interviews or anything like that. As ourEarth's sand is slowly running out, it's probable that glitter could be a component of sand.
They dont want to let her see the machines or even be on the manufacturing floor, let alone describe how the machines work. Amory: The me in this case is Richard Aboulafia. 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?
I'm a technical director, chemist, for a company called HK Research Corporation who makes polyester gel coats for the marine and fiberglass, cast polymer industries. Ben: John, I think they should they should start a new Netflix show called The Great American Flaking Show. Glitter was invented by a New Jersey cattle rancher in 1934. Because its a secretive industry and selling those secrets pisses people off. 
. If they're repeatedly dodging a question, or if every company in the same industry is equally dodging the same question that brings, that raises my radar to say something is not right here. Ben: David Boeri is probably known best for spending many years as WBURs senior investigative reporter. And lastly,amid the theories, dollar bills are also a possibility. Let's just leave it at that." Small manufacturers protect client information to protect business. And he builds a glitter company in Germany with a fleet of new machines. Joe: My father compared the margins to cocaine! 
David: I'd start in the basic gumshoe arena. The gold and silver sheets you often see on NASA equipment protect spacecraft from the temperature extremes of outer space. 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. So I am on the lookout for unusual mysteries, which I think this glitter one definitely fits in that mold. So again, the mystery certainly lies somewhere more disturbing. 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. And so they've been kind of looking into it on our behalf. What this article presupposes is: Maybe they use glitter instead. 
There's a reason that cars in the sun look really nice. Could glitter be providing some of that missing sparkle in toothpaste and other microbead-less cosmetics? Maybe what'sreallypropelling spacecraft is glitter, partially at least, because we all know that it works well as a stand-in for aluminum powder and ammonium perchlorate, the original rocket blaster. He gives good pep talk. Most military aircraft are equipped with tubes of chaff, millions of tiny aluminum- or zinc-coated fibers, to boggle radar-guided missiles and tracking systems. Amory: This is one of about a million ideas David had. Ben: That's what we're here for, right? Josh: Glitter paint. This would also distinguish counterfeit money from, you know- realglitterymoney. by the name of Ms. Dyer, who did not volunteer nor disclose information about who's responsible for giving the company most of its profit. Ben: By the way, we offered Glitterex the chance to confirm or deny our findings. I have a G.P.S. We're hoping to talk to one of them. 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. ), Spacecraft. 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? Greg: I don't want to cast aspersions at the glitter industry, but my guess is that it's not a state secret in terms of what they're doing. Just trying it out. Is it sparkly or Brannon: Anything that you want. Amory: But this New York Times story? Arguing that consumer preferences had changed (there was also a federal law passed in 2015 against microbeads), Crest eliminated microbeads from North American toothpaste by 2016. Ben: So if you're a Reddit fan, you should listen to the show anyway. Sand, after all, can be manufactured from concrete and made into fine rock particles. Tell me again where the factory is and where the headquarters are? Amory: Ho ho! You have been subscribed to WBUR Today. But it wasnt really the perfect time, since its Christmas week, and everyone in America is on vacation. And so I started hanging out in the watering holes. Amory: Are you familiar with the Unresolved Mysteries subreddit? Are we are we to be rejected? Something that we sell now we were selling for three or four times the amount per kilogram. Amory: Maybe, its part of a cloaking paint for vehicles used in the US military. Is that just how business works? , dollar bills are also a possibility. But back to out mystery: did Alex know anyone at Glitterex? You're just like, yeah. 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. Or his son, Jeet. Or, of course, we could take Meadowbrook Joe at his word and assume that the answer is the least-interesting one possible, like the shiny paint on a pack of cigarettes or a bottle of beer. Ben: Okay, I wanna shoutout former Endless Thread Intern Noah Baustin who found this Reddit post and the resulting comment thread. And he and his brother stepped up to run the company. Ben: Almost sight unseen. The colleagues who would be able to answer my questions? Brannon: Absolutely. Soooo, why is this information not being shared? Amory: Were hoping to talk to the woman who was interviewed in that New York Times story or the owner of the company, a guy named Babu.
I mean, you can tap it and it's extremely hard. And I'm having record seasons in all of them. Did you catch the topic of todays episode? If you didnt know, now you know. 
For the same reason, right? As a cloaking agent or paint for vehicles.
I've also read that thread on the Glitterex article. 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. There's been talk that toothpaste contains glitter, and visually that wouldn't be too much of a surprise. 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? Jers suburbs. Theres just not enough complicated societal sexual feelings in the world to make it rain for glitter! Ben: So true, grandma. 
On the other hand, who knows? Don't Get Mad. Amory: I'm sitting across from Josh yesterday. Don't hesitate to reach out with reactions to episodes, ideas for future stories, feedback about the show, or just to say hi. Ben: The answer to the last question is apparently, everywhere, which we will talk more about. The ingredient was safe, P&G insisted, and to the extent it made people like brushing their teeth, it led to healthier dental outcomes. So Amory, what have we learned? Sure, why not? Instead, it finds its way into the sea and into the bellies of fish who surely aren't craving microplastics for dinner. Ben: Oooh mysterious! Toothpaste. Amory: We asked Alex why he wouldnt tell us what the devil machine cuts.
Ben: The more you say it the weirder it gets! All contents 2022 The Slate Group LLC. There are a few ways to reach us: This content was originally created for audio. I will say that, you know, the constant murders, disappearances get a little grisly and a little like demoralizing.