Glitter

Glitter describes an assortment of small, reflective particles that come in a variety of shapes and colors. Glitter particles reflect light at different angles, causing the surface to sparkle or shimmer. Glitter is similar to confetti, sparkles, or sequins, but somewhat smaller. Since prehistoric times, glitter has been made from many different materials including stones such as malachite, and mica, as well as insects and glass. Modern glitter is usually manufactured from plastic and is rarely recycled leading to calls from scientists for bans on plastic glitter. The first production of modern plastic glitter is credited to the American machinist Henry Ruschmann, who found a way to cut plastic or mylar sheets into glitter in 1934. During World War II, glass glitter became unavailable so Ruschmann found a market for scrap plastics ground into glitter. He founded Meadowbrook Inventions, Inc., in Bernardsville, New Jersey, and the company is still a producer of industrial glitter. Decades later he filed a patent for a mechanism for cross-cutting films as well as other related inventions. Today over 20,000 varieties of glitter are manufactured in a vast number of different colors, sizes, and materials. Over 10 million pounds (4.5 million kilograms) of glitter were purchased between the years of 1989 and 2009 alone. Commercial glitter ranges in size from 0.002 to .25 inches (0.05 to 6.35 mm) a side. First, flat multi-layered sheets are produced combining plastic, coloring, and reflective material such as aluminium, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, and bismuth oxychloride. These sheets are then cut into tiny particles of many shapes including squares, triangles, rectangles, and hexagons. Glittering surfaces have been found to be used since prehistoric times and the arts and in cosmetics. The modern English word 'glitter' comes from the Middle English word gliteren, possibly by way of the Old Norse word glitra. However, as early as 30,000 years ago, mica flakes were used to give cave paintings a glittering appearance. Prehistoric humans are believed to have used cosmetics, made of powdered hematite, a sparkling mineral. 8,000 years ago people of the Americas were using powdered galena, a form of lead, to produce a bright greyish-white glittering paint used for objects of adornment. The collecting and surface mining of galena was prevalent in the Upper Mississippi Valley region by the Cahokia native peoples, for regional trade both raw and crafted into beads or other objects. From 40,000 BC to 200 BC, ancient Egyptians, produced 'glitter-like substances from crushed beetles' as well as finely ground green malachite crystal. Researchers believe Mayan temples were sometimes painted with red, green, and grey glitter paint made from mica dust, based on infrared scans of the remnants of paint still found on the structures in present-day Guatemala. Prior to fabrics made with modern glitter, sequins were sewn or woven on to fabric to give it a glittering appearance. Edible glitter made from gum arabic and other ingredients is even used by culinary artists.