Hey guys, welcome back to the Conspiracy Podcast. Oh my god, we meet again. You’re still here. How is everybody today? Um, I mean I’m personally. Is that a Is that a US question or is that a listener question? I know. I was I didn’t know. How are you doing? Welcome to October. Oh, dude. October. My favorite. Is kind of decently nice outside today for us to record. It wasn’t like miserable. Yeah. Which was great. Took my daughter to school and I was like, not that mad about this. It’s got an ass. [bleep] yeah, dude. I’m excited. I love October. Yeah, me too. It’s the start of like some cool [bleep] Uh so we have an interesting episode.

I’m kind of excited to do it because we’re kind of moving off of some major heavy episodes that we’ve done. Very very heavy. I mean, we’ve done we went from COVID to Charlie Kirk. Oh man, it’s just like non-stop like Yeah. And it’s heavy and it’s recent and it’s hard to make jokes like without being super [bleep] Annihilated from everybody. So, this one’s going to be nothing but jokes. Yes, 100. But this is a Patreon exclusive. That’s right. So, uh if you guys don’t know, on our Patreon, the top status is uh it’s we Yeah. The rich person status. And as part of the perk, they get to select their own episode topic.

Yes. And we’ve not had Well, we’ve not had one that we’ve declined. Yeah. We’ve done I think there’s still a couple in the hopper that we have to do. Mhm. But this is But we will obviously do them all. But there hasn’t been one that someone suggested that we’re like, “No, there was one that there was one I like steered away.” We got them to change it though. Yeah. I was like, you know, maybe we should, you know, like figure something else out just cuz it was a little bit too risque. No, no, it was too vague. Oh, it’s like Yeah, it was like um government killing people.

Well, that’s I mean I’m Wait, why did you turn that one down? We will not because like which government and which time period and you know forever but that is I was like I just you know a little too broad I mean yeah we need like more specifics. Uh but this one is crazy. It’s called the glitter conspiracy and I literally have no [bleep] clue here. I’m like I’m just like you. I have no idea what this is about. I know. Yeah. Well, it’s fun and it was requested a bit ago and so super amazing shout out to Angela. Angela, thank you so much. Uh she’s been supporting us for a bit now and this is her episode.

So, this definitely this goes out to Angela and uh we hope you enjoy the show and keep listening. And we hope you enjoy this episode. Yeah, let’s get into it. Tell me. Okay, so when we say glitter conspiracy, we literally mean glitter. Actual glitter. I thought it was a code name. I thought it was like maybe something to do with like stars and [bleep] cuz it kind of looks like the glitter sky glitter or like people who wear glitter or No, I thought it was going to be like some sort of like government program or some [bleep] Oh yeah, project glitter. Project glitter or something.

Here’s what we’re going to do, boys. No, it’s actually about the manufacturing and distribution of glitter, the product itself. The mo the the most annoying substance on earth. Yes. Still in my carpet. Literally still in my [bleep] carpet. Exactly. [bleep] glitter. So, I just wanted to go over a couple things of like how big is the glitter industry and you know that sort of thing before we dive into it. So, is it like the staple industry which is like massive? Glitter powder as it’s called is a $1.2 billion industry. Are you serious? So, how is that even possible? Like who’s buying this much glitter? It’s estimated to be at about 2 billion by 2032.

There any glitter companies out there? That’s a grow but glitter companies want a little sponsor, you know, but it seems like a slow run rate though. 1.2 1.2 to 2x 232. That’s like what? That’s seven years from now. I mean, we’re talking about glitter. What is that? That’s It’s great, you know. Great point. Thank you. There’s not really like some hot market for glitter right now. It’s not like an emerging country. So, like mask manufacturers like during co was like, “Ah, we’re popping off, baby. There’s some new country like glitter is our icon and put it in the water. [bleep] it.” Um, but you know, I think that’s four or five% a year.

You know, it’s steady growth. Yeah, it’s getting there. This is not financial advice, by the way. The other market is uh biodegradable glitter. Oh, wow. That sounds good. And that’s like another market. That seems like a hot market. Yeah, because we’ll go into it uh in some other statistics, but actually glitter estimated to take a thousand years to biodegrade. Sick. So my so my carpet will literally disintegrate before the and the glitter will still remain wherever it is. Awesome. Love it. Yeah. Like super super happy about this. So it’s actually kind of a neat e uh side, you know, market that’s growing which is echofriendly.

Eco-friendly. Echo’s fine. Degraable one. Okay. Yeah. Anyways. Yeah. There you go. Uh so that will be half a billion by uh 2030. Yeah. Okay. They’re on like, you know, similar trajectories here. Then there’s global cosmetic glitter. It’s around 17 million. Edible glitter is a thing. Why would you eat it? Edible glitter. I don’t know. Baking just do sprinkles. I guess cookies and you just go and then you eat it. But that Yeah, I still would. I don’t know. Maybe I wouldn’t want to eat those cookies. I’d be like, uh, but that’s half a billion. Wow. Uh, then there’s glitter glue. Oh, dude. Oh my god.

Dude, you have no idea. I went to [bleep] Five Below and there was like a 30 pack of these glitter glues. They’re f It’s everywhere. It’s Everything I own has glitter glue on it. I kid you not. What’s wild about this industry is the number of variations. There are 20,000 types of glitter on the glitter glue. No, just glitter glitter in general. Can you imagine their skew catalog? Oh my gosh. It’s like you It’s like you go to Cheesecake Factory. It’s like It’s on page seven. If you if you flip down to it, you can see it. Yeah. Britney, I’m going to need uh part number 174218.

You imagine like the storage facility for like I know I don’t know where that is. All right. Anyways, that’s just like the industry like giving give me an idea of how big it is. Um so here’s the story. It began innocently enough in late 2018. Journalist Katie Weaver was working on a New York Times feature about glitter, the shiny craft material that seems to get everywhere and never goes away ever. During her research, she learned quirky facts for for instance, glitter is mostly made in New Jersey. Oh, the most popular color is silver. Since glitter is essentially I would thought gold actually. I know. I would have thought like some like pink or some [bleep] True.

Since glitter is essentially microlastic, it is estimated it takes a thousand years to biodegrade. Oh, so this is like why we’re [bleep] Like literally glitter is just like the reason we’re like it’s just getting into your bloodstream. Yeah. [bleep] But the real bombshell of this story dropped when Weaver visited or attempted to visit the major glitter manufacturer on the planet called Glitter X. H the company was so secretive that Weaver wasn’t even allowed to see the machines or even meet the clients. Then came the question, a question that turned this cheery, light-hearted holiday New York Times story into a full mystery. Weaver asked GlitterX manager Lauren Dyer a seemingly straightforward question, which was, “Which industry is your biggest buyer of glitter?” Dyer’s answer was as swift as as it was baffling.

That’s classified. No, I absolutely know that. I can’t tell you that. Why? Weaver. I mean, that seems like a very like benign question. Who do you sell to? Weaver taken aback pressed on. Did Dyer know who it was? The manager laughed and said, “Oh god, yes.” And you would never guess who it is. Let’s leave it at that. It’s probably like Rathon or something like some [bleep] [bleep] like that. So Katie’s like, “Why is it so secretive?” She only hinted. They said they don’t want anyone to know that it’s glitter. Oh no. It’s like the food industry, isn’t it? Oh god. This cryptic exchange continued.

If an ordinary person saw the product, would they even realize it was glitter? No, I can already see. Then Dyer said, “No, not really.” “You might see something shiny,” she implied, but you wouldn’t actually know it was glitter. And with that, she refused to divulge anything more, even off the record. Wow. Oh, this I I feel like this is like I’m like I’m like already getting upset. I feel like every Jolly Rancher you’ve ever eaten is literally 90% glitter. So, this puzzling interaction, a glitter company outright refusing to name its top client was the spark that lit a fire. Well, wait. It wasn’t even It wasn’t even the top client.

It was like, “What industry are you selling?” Like, even say the industry. What product could possibly require massive tonnages of glitter yet look like something entirely non-glitter? The notion was both mystifying and oddly funny. Here was a real life conspiracy puzzle dropped into the laps of readers just before Christmas of 2018. And it involves something funny and whimsical such as glitter. I just can’t imagine like having the newspaper open and like seeing like that article and you’re like, “What the [bleep] is glitter?” And I’m like, “Yeah, next.” Like not even going to read this one. It’s strangely like it seems like the readership would be very low.

Like very low. It’s And you’re also like, “Where’s the cross word?” Like, “Fuck this. Give me the comics.” So, as soon as the New York Times published this story on December 21st, 2018, one tantalizing detail eclipsed all others. Somewhere out there was a mystery glitter buyer that doesn’t want anyone to know that it’s glitter use and it became the great glitter mystery. I just What if it’s just like some billionaire who’s just like trolling people? It’s like dude I need two what? For nothing. No, just so like you know like dump glitter all over someone’s house or some [bleep] like you think teeping’s bad. Imagine like having a ton of glitter dumped on your property.

I mean wasn’t there a thing for a while like uh glitter bombs? Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You can still 100%. They open it up and [bleep] just everywhere in your eyeballs. It’s like impossible to get away. So, uh, the internet really won with this. Like, this is this is where the internet came in. They’re like, you know, heavy. Yeah. They’re like deep dive. News of the hidden glitter virus spread quickly, capturing the internet’s imagination. On the very day the article came out, a discussion appeared on Reddit. Oh god, the [bleep] the form of truth. This was titled, “Which mystery industry is the largest buyer of glitter?” And it’s in the Reddit thread, uh, Unresolved Mysteries.

The Reddit community, known for soothing out enigmas, latched onto the glitter question with gusto. The original poster summarized the juicy bits from Weaver’s piece, including the quote, “You would never guess it.” And then the firestorm began. Oh my goodness. The online detectives started. Yes. Literally. Yeah. They started speculating. The the community noted you see it in nail polish. No, for sure. Yeah. Holiday cards, the stuff like that seems like obvious like like wrapping paper or like [bleep] [bleep] like that. Cosmetics, children’s craft, uh football helmets. Yeah, totally. Get all shiny. Yeah, makes sense. But those are expected uses. Yeah, I’m saying that a little too obby.

The challenge was to think of places where glitter is used secretly. food in enormous quantities by an industry rich enough and determined enough to hide it and to buy in that quantity literally we talked about how much it is it’s billion couple billion yeah and I would guess that there’s 10 clients let’s be honest I mean yeah I mean 10 clients do 90% of it probably 95 I guarantee it’s the vast majority by a few uh here are some of the earliest theories Toothpaste. Really? Have you ever gotten your kids a toothpaste and it sparkles up? Oh, yeah. You’re right. Yeah. Interesting. But I I don’t see that as a massive fire industry for that.

Colgate. No, but like but for kids for for it’s it’s not like my normal toothpaste like my arm and hammer [bleep] It’s like it’s No, it’s just like it looks like like cocking. It’s like literally it’s like dull white. It’s like [bleep] in your mouth. I as soon as I [bleep] said I knew I knew I thought it was going to slip by. I literally thought it was going to slip by without getting That’s going to be a social media clip. Yeah. Oh my god. We’re going to put his face on it, too. We got AI now. We can do that. Uh certain toothpaste toothpastes have a sparkly sheen.

Could a toothpaste manufacturer be dumping heaps of microscopic glitter plastic into their products and not wanting parents to know that kids are essentially brushing their teeth with plastic? I know. I think like one thing that’s like a candy, you know? I feel like candi is always like too vibrant. It’s like it’s too like whoa, look at how delicious I am, you know? Like it’s so [bleep] out there, you know? Sorry, Eric. It would fit the clue. If you looked at toothpaste, you might see a shimmer but not realize that it’s glitter. Yeah, I mean that makes sense. Yeah, that’s one theory. Uh the other is currency.

Okay. The US Treasury or the mint. Well, not even I I would I would think like foreign like you look at foreign bills, they’re like [bleep] had them with me. Well, have you seen there’s like a dude on a mountain top like and like the colors like [bleep] Brit like like Britain’s new [bleep] [bleep] It’s all like like purple and like [bleep] red. I’m like whoa. There’s even some that you can’t even rip. No, dude. That’s what I’m saying. Dude, they’re like England England’s new money is literally made of plastic. You literally can’t rip that [bleep] It’s [bleep] plastic. I think South America has some that you just can’t even rip.

I wonder if you can burn it. You can burn pretty much anything. Anything. In the uh Zimbab I think it’s Zimbabwe trillion. Oh yeah. Trillion dollar. Well, the inflation’s so high trillion dollar bill. Can they just do like a reverse split? You know what I mean? That’s what I was thinking. Like they just take it down to one and just make it like the equivalent. No, it’s a trillion dollar bill. Uh so it’s possible that it’s the US Treasury or a money printing operation using the fine glitter as a component in ink or anti-counterfeit measures. This theory intrigued many. Imagine if your dollar bills were coated in glitter particles so fine you’d never even notice.

Yeah. And that that way why why does it just makes them more resistant? No, he said like a counter like a like a anti-counterfeiting method. So if like if you know there’s like a certain kind of like chemical makeup of these particles that that’s not known to the public and then you check it and you’re like, “Oh, see they’re supposed to have this particular sheen or shine or color profile that you can like verify.” I was thinking more like the the hologram part of it or whatever like you know how they have you put it you know but this is more like fine little particles in there just to kind of make up like you’re saying the chemical whatever and then you can just like when you look at it you’re like oh this is legit.

Yeah. And also if it was the US Treasury they would want to keep it under wraps. Yeah. It’s not like Yeah. And then they wouldn’t be able to talk about it and they would be a big enough player. Not not too sure but this one seems a little bit more. They’re the player. They make the money. True. They have all the money. A billion dollars to them is zero dollars, right? Oh, I’ll just print that this morning. Yeah. And also like they want them to print more. Yes. True. So, it’s kind of a weird It’s a win-win. Yeah. It’s a weird scenario. We need to buy 100 billion of glitter.

[bleep] it. Uh, some another theory is the military. Some pointed to the defense industry. After all, the military has deep pockets. I did say Rathon and Yeah. And secrecy. Could glitter be used in camouflage paint, explosives, or some sort of stealth technology to camo and or you know what I mean? I mean, maybe um reflectively like refctive. Reflectively. I mean, they would have to be lined up perfectly though, right? Yeah. It’s And also it’s like the thing with glitter you said it’s mostly micro plastic, so it’s not like metal, so there isn’t going to be a really a reflective. I can see maybe in like some sort of kind of Digi Cam type.

Yeah. Type play. You wouldn’t be able to Which one was the most famous one? Um, silver. The most popular that’s the most popular according to them. But I mean, in terms of like using it’s gold or pink using that for like for like aircraft though, it doesn’t that’s not what makes an aircraft stealth. What makes an aircraft stealth? It’s a it’s a it’s more like it’s aerodynamics and engineering to make it like not the waves the waves kind of like move around. It’s that’s what makes it like undetectable. What do you What do you think? I don’t I don’t know much about it but uh in explosives I mean little part I don’t know.

I just don’t I don’t know. the bad guys get a glitter bomb. Is that what you have? I mean, maybe that is or maybe like or maybe it’s something to do with like uh uh imagine like you know what what if it’s like certain type of smoke grenades that the particles go out and like Yeah. Yeah. Like imagine little plastic particles is going in your eyes and you’re just like I [bleep] literally can’t I’m blind. I’m like actually blind like maybe something like that. But then the users of the smoke bomb would also get that US military baby gas mask like this. Like they’re [bleep] they’re ready for this [bleep] Operators are not going into a house throwing a with gas masks.

No, I mean clearly they’re not elite. Plus, it’s also not something that would be big enough market to to be a big to be the one US military. But not for smoke bombs. No, but I’m saying but they they overpay. They’ll pay $1,000 for one. I know. They overpaid. They overpay so much. But it’s not about overpaying. It’s about they’re the consumer. They’re the number one consumer of the glitter, which yes. Okay. Obviously, they’re going to be the number one like moneywise. What if it’s in like tear gas too? Then you have like okay uh every major city’s you know SWAT teams buying them too.

I don’t know. But that’s still multiple players. I don’t I know. Yeah, true. We’re talking about tonnages of glitter and glitter is very light. I don’t even know the order of magnitude that we’re trying to figure out. So like smoke bombs doesn’t make sense to me. No. Um, what’s your guess? What if it’s like some weird like what if it was like now that I’m thinking about it more. Okay, we’re talking about like microparticles. What if it was like some play to I’m thinking of how it it might be swung like, oh, we want to use this as for a good thing. What if it’s some sort of like water purification type system and they’re like, oo, we’ll take these like microp particles.

That would be outrageous, huh? Yeah. Well, as I’m saying, I’m thinking of like scale. Like, what would you need that much for? Like, what if we can purify ocean water by doing this? And then we’re like, oh [bleep] we’ve actually [bleep] up everything. It’s like that’s a really bad idea. We keep it on on low. Everybody’s drinking micro low low. Yeah. Then we’re all drinking micro and like fish are just dying. I’m saying because you know, maybe it didn’t happen with glitter, but you know, it’s happened at one point. Oh [bleep] They’re like, dude, fish love oil, bro. Trust me, they get down on this [bleep] They’re like, “Oh, [bleep] It’s not working out.” The next one, one Redditor noted that concrete sidewalks and road surfaces sometimes have this sparkle.

I thought about that. Yes, it’s true. You know what? That’s a I like that one. And then also like when you do your garage, like those flakes, I guess, maybe. But that’s not again huge. What do you call that stuff that you do in in the garage? Uh oh. Uh what do they call it? Yeah, it’s like poly. We have it on our I think it’s poly something. Yeah. Yeah. I know what you mean though. But the poly is more like the the [bleep] that you put on there to make it hard, but then the flakes go on there after the shine. It’s like [bleep] beautiful.

All the handymen listening are like I know the word. They’re in the car screaming it like you [bleep] Shut up. You guys aren’t a handyman. One star review for you. I don’t know what I’m doing. I hire people for this [bleep] Yeah, dude. Uh, this led to theories that construction companies might be mixing glitter into cement, concrete, asphalt, make them glean. Um, yeah, but like why would they just like to strengthen them? But the thing is like that wouldn’t be on the low though. You wouldn’t like be trying to like [bleep] sweep that under the rug, right? Like Yeah. Using the street, who cares? But these are all the theories like maybe there’s not a non nefarious one.

You know what I mean? Like where it’s just client. Well, I’m also trying to tie it all like why would like you not say the industry. Yeah, I get you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Not like I understand like giving a specific client name like John’s street workers, you know, but like the industry. Yeah. Like no one’s going to be like they’re like oh roads like cool who car like next question. Uh another one is is luxury vehicles andor boats. High-end cars often have metallic paint with a glittery metallic flake. Yeah, but that’s like the paint industry which is very obvious. Seems like an we were talking about like an obvious play.

Yeah. Um what about the boating industry? Fiberglass speedboats and jet skis have flashy and often sparkle in sunlight. Very true. Um pimped out yachts and cruise ships also glitter and sunlight. It’s still relatively small market. And uh Grock and that’s basically what it was saying as well that that is the biggest purchaser of glitter. The marine industry. The marine industry. Cornrock. Cornrock. All right. cruise ships. [bleep] Grock. I’m just listen. Grock’s only using the the information available on the app. So So this is what it says. I I’ll just read it to you. Ready? Yeah. The biggest buyer of glitter in the world and in the USA is the marine industry.

They use it in massive quantities for boat paint to hide scratches and protect against corrosion. Glitter X, which is a major US glitter manufacturer. That’s what we were talking about. Keeps their top client confidential, but it’s widely understood to be for marine applications like cruise ships and yachts. Of course, cosmetic automotive industries also use Oh my god, Grock just [bleep] solved it for us. I know. One Google and this it’s literally like glitter like I’m like [bleep] Yeah. Well, here’s another theory. Shut up, Grock. Yeah. Here’s another theory which is called the sand mafia theory. Oo, I like this. In a bizarre twist. A comeer half seriously proposed that big sand companies could be buying glitter.

The world was reportedly facing a sand shortage for construction. What? leading some to speculate that in order to make flake fake glittery sand for beaches or resorts, companies might be importing glitter by the truckload to fill in the gaps of sand. Oh, weird. How was there a [bleep] sand shortage? You know, there’s like deserts that are just full of this [bleep] everywhere. As low as far as the eye can see. I like glitter. No, just imagine that you’re building a resort and then uh you want to like pre No. And you’re like 88% done with the sand and you have no more sand. No, but like isn’t there like I need to get some sand?

Our beaches are different cuz our beaches are literally just like quartz. So quartz like quartz rock. It’s powderized rock. Yeah. No, they they pretty much they take like our beaches are specific. Our beaches are that. So it’s if you like for example, I’ll give you a good example. So me and my wife went to Spain for our honeymoon and the beaches in Spain like the sand is literally like grainy. It’s like brown and it’s like it’s not it’s not like white appealing to the eye. It’s not like ooh this beach is beautiful. You’re like oh it’s like dirt that’s not really dirt that’s what it looks like.

But our beaches like the it’s it white. It’s perfect. It’s pristine. It’s soft. It’s because it’s quartz. But even Okay. So like you go to like uh another example would be like Pebble Beach. You’ve heard of famous golf course. They’re pebbles. The little That’s why they’re called, you know what I mean? Very the very small pebbles. It’s just like Yeah. It’s They did it on purpose because it’s it’s it’s be it’s beautiful. It looks really nice. It’s very soft. It It handles heat well. I mean, it still gets hot as [bleep] but like that’s why they did it. And they pretty much shipped in all this powdered quartz and made the beaches that way.

Yeah. Yeah. Uh anyways, those are some of it seems a little more expensive than [bleep] glitter. Glitter social media buzz with wild ideas. For example, some joked that the mystery buyer was share. Is that her concert? Because the joke is all of her costumes are absolutely riddled with glitter. Yeah, you know, I mean, things like that. Or maybe it was NASA buying glitter to build a giant space mirror to hide the UFOs. Mhm. But these absurd guesses only amplified the hype and it became a real mystery. In the weeks that followed, the Reddit thread exploded with activity. Nearly 15,000 votes and 2,200 comments as people debated and dissected every clue in theory.

Mhm. Clearly, the Glitter X manager’s refusal to spill the secret had struck a chord. People genuinely wanted to solve this sparkling who done it mystery. The thread became a kind of crowdsourced detective hunt with users contributing tidbits of knowledge. The chemical makeup of glitter industries that use reflective particles, anecdotes about weird glitter sightings. It became a blend of serious inquiry and jokes. The question had transformed a niche topic into a viral conspiracy mystery virtually overnight. Got to love rid of baby as as as soon as there’s like a little mystery, it just turns into a conspiracy. I know, right? We’re like something’s a [bleep] a foot.

I don’t trust even if it doesn’t like fully make sense. It’s just it doesn’t even have to be necessarily nefarious. It’s just like we don’t understand. Yeah. Conspiracy. [bleep] conspiracy, boys. [bleep] government. As 2019 rolled on, interest in the glitter mystery stayed strong. The story popped up in various media outlets, adding their own twists. The women’s magazine, The Cut, had already run its playful piece, highlighting the Enigma and listing those creative guests, you know, from their own staff. So, other sites and science blogs then started to chime in. And all these headlines were, “Who’s stealing all the glitter?” I mean, they’re buying it, but let’s stealing it.

Like, the company’s still in business. They’re making money. I just want to be the dude who like decided, “Oh, yeah. I got a business plan, baby. Glitter X. I’m going to make a glitter only. That’s all we’re going to do. I wonder how long they’ve been around. I mean, it has to be for a while. Yeah. A significant breakthrough came from an unexpected place. A podcast. Us. It was an NPR podcast called Endless Thread. Endless Thread. Oh, Thread. Okay. In the end of 2019, the host of Endless Thread dedicated a full episode to the great glitter mystery. They spoke directly with people at GlitterX and other insiders digging for the answer.

And they got one, or at least off the record got an answer. According to the podcast and later shared by listeners, GlitterX biggest buyer is indeed the boat and marine paint industry. That’s where Grock’s getting this data from. Yeah, that’s Yes. Grock was the insider. Yeah. He had a remote roll like he was in there. It revealed that massive ships think cruise liners and cargo vessels use an enormous amount of glittery material in their paint. Why so much? It turns out in the harsh, salty ocean environment, a ship’s paint gets scratched and deteriorates quickly. Constant repainting is needed to pre prevent rust and damage. And by mixing glitter, essentially very fine reflective particles, uh, into the marine paint.

So, new paint layers then blend in seamlessly with the old ones and any patches or touch-ups are less visible. You can also imagine too it’s like what’s the what’s one of the few materials that [bleep] salt doesn’t like erode like plastic. Mhm. It’s like pl like plastic is so you think it’s like these are mic tiny microplastic particles. It’s got to provide some sort of like deterrent for literally the acid that the boat is sitting in. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. But the internet kind of uh fought back and [bleep] you. It’s too easy. No. And a lot of it became that is the most boring antilimactic.

It can’t be true. It’s too easy. Find another answer. I know, right? Hundreds of comments of Yes. Well, of course that’s what they want you to think. Of course that’s what they want you to think. It’s too logical. They they interviewed people at the company. The truth. Yeah. So, imagine you’re at the company. How much are they paying you for this? Yeah. So, imagine you’re at the company and you’re like, “Okay, this is getting out of hand. This is getting out of control.” Yeah. Or like, “Let’s go on a podcast and like tell them what we want them to hear or like not what they want to hear, but like fill in the void like, you know what I mean?

Like come up with Well, I honestly that’s the conspiracy. Honestly, what I think it probably is like just based on this is it it makes sense that it would be the marine industry, but what’s one of the largest problems in like with the the marine industry is the pollution to the oceans? Mhm. And what’s one of the largest pollutions to the oceans besides oil? Plastic. And you’re literally saying that you’re putting hundreds and hundreds of tons of microplastics on on the [bleep] the hulls of boats that are literally just sitting in the water. They do still erode. Where does that erosion go? Into the ocean.

So, they’re probably like, “Oh shit.” Like, it actually probably is like an an eco problem, but it hasn’t really been like looked into. They don’t want them really looking into it because when they they do do a little science behind it and they’re like, “Wow, like why are the why are there so many microplastic particles in this water?” Like, “This is a little weird.” Yeah. And then what happens? Fish eat it. Fish breathe it. And then the fish that you eat is now full of [bleep] microplastics. And then you get back to the problem now. It’s like, why why are so many humans disinfested with microplastics?

Hormone issues and [bleep] like that. Yeah. hormone issues, testosterone deficiencies, [bleep] infertility issues, like all this [bleep] [bleep] can all stem from this [bleep] glitter industry, which is probably why they’re like, “Keep it around. Don’t talk about the marine industry at all.” Yeah. I like that. Yeah. What’s weird about the story, though, is that it didn’t really like go away. M it like created it like got legs I guess as you would say and and it gained traction even though that was a logical explanation. Mhm. Meaning now videos were coming out going it was solved and this is this but it’s still you would think that it would just die out because the mystery over.

Yeah. Um but it didn’t. And so, uh, then just when we thought it was over, uh, in 2022, a new development pulled people right back in. This time via Tik Tok. What do you know? That year, rumors spread of a looming glitter shortage. I mean, who’s really [bleep] worried about that? Glitter. The looming. It’s like the government shutdown. The glitter shortage. Supply chain issues and environmental pressures meant some craft stores had trouble stocking glitter. Sensational headlines warned that the world might be running out of glitter. It’s so stupid. Would you be worried if you saw a headline like that? Hell no. We’re [bleep] Be happy.

We’re [bleep] with the glitter. It’s like, sorry, baby. We can’t. No more glitter. Sorry. It’s weird too because it’s right in the height of u I mean it’s towards the end of but still in the middle of like COVID so you would think they would have other headlines other than the they’re like fishing for stories. Yeah. Many young people had never heard the tale of Glac client. So creators began retelling it as a punchy new thing in these new theatrical videos. Kind of like bringing the story back to life in breaking news. Yeah, breaking breaking old news. You ever see those headlines? They’re like, and it’s like, oh, like it just happened, but it didn’t just happen.

So, and I’m like, what’s this? And I go and I’m like, [bleep] you. Yeah, you [bleep] In in October of 2022, one Tik Tocker posted a fullscale reenactment of the interview that happened at GlitterX. So, you know, the 2018 interview, he like they like recreated it, dude. Oh my god. like it’s happening right now. It’s literally like the new the news industry is literally the movie industry. Yeah. It’s literally like make Twister again. Oh my god. This is like all the movie remakes. It’s like [bleep] remake the news. But you know, millions of views later, um social media feeds glittered with speculation and it felt like it was just happening all over again.

The difference this time though is that never ending in the comment sections were it’s the boating industry. Like we’ve already figured this out. But many viewers either miss those comments and or they just simply enjoyed the debate of this silly kind of mystery. Isn’t it I mean like no it’s not and they just love the engagement going on. It’s like it is a little sometimes it’s a little fun in certain scenarios to be like no you actually know and then like 7 million comments later it’s still like no like it’s it’s a little it’s a little fun sometimes. If you guys leave us a bad comment in our social media, just know who responds to you.

That’s that’s Sean and he’s egging you on. You’re wrong. I don’t like my weird like ghost ghost profiles. No. No. My favorite is responding with what do you mean? And then they’re just like what? Especially when they gave like a whole dissertation of like exactly like I don’t get it. Like it doesn’t make sense. But again, this just kind of blew up and people are saying are trying to say, “Hey, no, this is over and solved. So, like, why are we doing it?” But then that just kept, you know, how engagement goes and just go, “No, the algorithm a post on Reddit’s unsolved mysteries in late 2022 explicitly announced the mystery of the largest glitter purchaser has been solved and pointed to that podcast, the NPR podcast endless thread.” M the post author noted they hadn’t seen an update in the form yet, but they wanted to share that for closure.

Yet, it just kept going and nobody listened. They were like, “Shut the [bleep] up. You’re wrong, that’s right.” But in the end, the glitter conspiracy proved to be the perfect blend of mystery and whimsy for the internet era. What started as a curious aside in a newspaper article became a global guessing game involving journalists, Reddit detectives, podcasters, and Tik Tockers. And I guess if there’s a lesson in all this is it’s that humans have an endless appetite for mystery, unknown, interesting stories, fireplace stories, uh talking with your friends about something that maybe is lighthearted but still kind of a mystery. I mean, isn’t that isn’t that like the whole the whole purpose of like the human experience is like asking questions and wondering isn’t that what our podcast started on?

Question everything. Yeah. Yeah. It literally started on it was like, you know, the the backyard grill conversation. I’m like, “No, no, no, no, no.” And Eric’s like, “Dude, they had health bennies and they’re [bleep] employees.” Like, you know, if you haven’t listened to our pyramids episodes, please go back. Yeah, please go back. Get the reference on them. Yeah. Vote who you’re uh with. I think those polls are ending. No, I think they’re still they may still be No, I think they go on for like a year. Also, actually, we got we recently got some comments, too, on those. Oh, yeah. They’re just people going like who they’re with.

Oh, okay. Good. You know what I mean? Like one guy was like, “I’m with the Brown Boys.” Yeah. My god. My god. Pretty funny. Anyway, so even with the mystery supposedly solved, the tale of the glitter conspiracy retains its quote unquote line. Yeah. It’s now a piece of internet folklore, a reminder that even the most mundane topics can hide a secret and that collective curiosity can transform a small question into a big adventure. But who knows? It’s possible that’s a narrative that was given to this blowup and there might be more to the story. I Oh. Oh my god. Oh, dude. I just thought of a whole another [bleep] I literally it just popped in my mind.

Like what if they’re using this for like chemtrails like weather manipulation or like they’re just like pumping into the atmosphere to try to like combat quote unquote global warming you know so like maybe that’s why you know like that’s why they’re so secretive. Yeah. I’m trying to think of not of things like but it’s the government everything always back to the government. It’s always so it’s in my in my opinion No, in my opinion, I think it’s it’s probably it’s probably one of Yeah. I mean, I like that idea of like that cuz it I mean that that could be Yeah. something. But I mean, regarding the boating industry, it does make sense why it would be secretive.

Yeah. Because Well, so I was going to ask bad PR for the glitter industry to for people to think like what you were saying like all these microplastics going into they would they would they would be banned. Especially nowadays, you [bleep] get boycott and get cancelled for anything. The thing is like microplastics like are able to they’re I I think if depending on how small the particles are like via osmosis like you can like absorb those particles in through your skin. The skin is a giant organ. It’s just constantly breathing in everything that you’re like the atmosphere. And so when I think about glitter, I don’t think about like these micro plastics.

I think about like you know bigger particles like not micro. Yeah. But I think that you can you can refine it. You can make it so it’s like Well, isn’t there technically I mean aren’t there glitter? There’s more than one type of glitter, right? For sure. Like you know the sparkles. Yeah. That they stuck on your [bleep] skin. Is that considered glitter too? Yeah, 100%. Yeah. And then there’s the big glitter bomb where it’s like little pieces of paper or little square. I think you can like confetti type [bleep] or whatever. I think you can powder it down to where it’s like [bleep] like it’s almost like Yeah.

Like a mist. Yeah. Almost. All right. Well, let me Well, at least they came out with the biodegradable now. So, maybe, you know, maybe that was their move also to like kind of handle this if it ever blows up in their face. I’ll be honest. I kind of want to try eating uh glitter. Yeah. With some milk. Yeah. Sure. What were you going to say? Okay. So, I was just going to tee it up. So, here are the questions, right? One, why did that interview go that way with the Glitter X employee? Yeah. Two, uh, do you believe the boat resolution? And three, is there any other possibility of something nefarious or strange?

Yeah. Yeah. Who wants to go first? I’ll go. Yeah. Sean’s up. So, one, um, why was it why the girl talk like that? Why is it so secretive? What’s the I think that they’re maybe at the time I’m I’m this is going to be one and two kind of combined. Sure. Yeah. I think it’s highly probable that it is the marine industry. And I think the marine industry was probably getting flak from like all the various groups who were like trying to like [bleep] preserve the oceans because I mean realistically like 98% of the e the [bleep] the biosphere the biosphere is what what what a biosphere is is like where where life can inhabit.

Like so 98% of the biosphere of the planet where life can exist is the ocean literally. Yeah, 98% of the biosphere of Earth is the ocean. So, I think that they were probably getting a lot of flak because obviously like the marine industry already gets a shitload of flack because of the pollutants that they’re dumping into the ocean. So, then you add in not to mention all of the gas and oil and all this other [bleep] and all the other plastics and and waste and trash that are constantly just being [bleep] dumped in the ocean. Not to mention the the rampant [bleep] destruction of the ecosystem of the ocean with with fishing and and and all this other [bleep] But now you’re like, “Okay, cool.

We have this microplastic problem.” And if you follow, you know, all this stuff, the microplastics is a problem. Like yes, I agree with that. Like they are in almost all living beings on this planet. You have like this infestation of microplastics and they are causing like Jorge mentioned earlier like hormonal issues. They they lead to infertility issues. They lead to like all these like health problems that like they’re relatively new because you know, you know, 200 years ago they weren’t glitter bombs 200 years ago in the ocean. Yeah. Or whatever. And it’s interesting, too, if you really boil it down. It’s all I’m not saying, oh, big oil is, you know, the enemy blah blah blah, but plastic is derived from petroleum.

It’s it’s a it’s a petrol product. M. So, it all I think it all boils down to that they’re getting hardcore [bleep] [bleep] from the FDA, Greenpeace, all these other organizations are like, “What the [bleep] are you doing?” And they’re like, “Yeah, you got to shut the [bleep] up. If you want this money, don’t tell them who you’re selling it to.” Right. So, I do agree that I So, they lock down on their client agreement. Yeah. I do think it was the marine industry. But a little little little little guy in the back of my head is like, what’s in those little clouds up there?

What’s in those little streamy streams? Because they do weird [bleep] and they admit that they’re doing weird [bleep] and maybe there’s a way that they’re like, “Oh, we can slightly, you know, within like 5 to 10% manipulate weather.” Yeah. If we dump like these clouds on these weird [bleep] particles and does weird [bleep] maybe we can control [bleep] Yeah. And it’s maybe not the same uh thing that we think of as glitter like big old pieces of like I think it’s like fine like at at a at a particle level where it’s like it’s literally it’s just a chemical thing to help them with the [bleep] pain and all this [bleep] we went over.

Also why they didn’t show the machines. I think Yeah, cuz I think it’s like you’re making it so it’s like so it’s micro. It’s micro. It’s I think it’s at at a micro level. Nano. Yeah. Like no. What? What’s the other word we can use with hyper? Uh, all right. So, what was your what was the two questions again? Why why why did the interview go that way? Yes. Really? Okay. Because it sparked the whole thing. And then, do you agree with the marine? Yes. And then three was like, is there other sketch [bleep] Right. So, I was wondering if there was maybe at the time that this big uh story like first broke something going on with the cruise industry or something like that like PR-wise.

Oh, man. At the time and there was a lot of [bleep] going on in the Scott [bleep] damn [bleep] cruise. You ever see that documentary, dude? Yes. I haven’t seen it, but dude, it’s on Netflix and it’s just about a [bleep] cruise because like the power went out and it’s so bad. Anyway, so cruise lines were already kneedeep in the scandals in October. So remember the the story came out in like right around Christmas. So December then 2019, right? 18 18. Okay. Yeah. So in October of that year, so 2018, remember the story broke in in December of that year. So, in October, the cruise lines, one of the cruise lines got was in trouble PR-wise for dumping thousands of gallons of food waste around Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

Mhm. Carnival in 2017. So, this is like, you know, the the year before, $40 million fine and criminal probation for illegally dumping oil, oily waste or Yeah, oily waste. Still very much um you know, they were on the hot seat still into 2018. And there was one other one here. Hold on. It’s like, why would you why you looked that up? And then that same year, so 2018, still September, Princess cruise ship, they were slapped with an air and water violation citation in Alaska for spewing pollutants. Wait till they get to like shore, but like what the [bleep] So, it’s interesting timing. It is. And so, there’s already this PR nightmare.

Oh, can you imagine the if you’re the PR guy that like you’re the PR guy. You’re like, “All right, I can’t deal with this whole Glitter X. Sign the NDA now. Sign the NDA.” They just went with the whole It’s confidential. I’m not going to say anything for I My point is I think it was a PR move. Okay. You know, and and it makes sense. If I was that company, I want the same [bleep] Like obviously you’re not you’re not you don’t want to jeopardize these close to a billion dollars in market. Uh yeah. And it’s like and it’s also you don’t want to like you’re already in trouble.

You don’t want to give them more like more ammunition to [bleep] you. Like we just paid so like we can’t afford anything else. Yeah. Can you Yeah. Imagine you’re Glitter X. You’re like you you you’re like, “Oh yeah, it was the Marine Industry. Whatever.” And then they’re going to go with someone else. Oh, well there’s no one else. Um well, they’re the biggest. That’s not doesn’t mean that they’re no no one else. That’s a good point. Good point. So I think that is what was happening in regards to the interview. I do think it basically agreeing with Sean like it goes back to the marine industry and um and it again I think it was like a whole PR thing that was going on.

I don’t have another theory. Yeah. First thing first time we we hear about this. Yeah. I mean this is I don’t know. You might formulate something new. I only can formulate based on what Eric went over and like Grock and so that’s what I come up with. Well, what’s interesting is while the glitter industry is not that big, you know, we would in the grand scheme 2 billion, a billion, no, 1.32, but the cruise liner industry massive 75 billion massive. So, I mean, I get what your point is like, and that’s just the cruise liners like the like we said it was marine in general.

So yeah, the cruise liners alone is one thing, but that doesn’t mean like personal boats, [bleep] fishing charters, [bleep] there’s just so many like the industry is actually massive. Yeah. So just stay away protect your c protect your money. Like stay away from answering the question and I think that’s what happened. Okay. What about you? Uh I I definitely agree with you. I um I think there I I agree with the whole PR stint and um whether or not it’s a conspiracy is it you could call it a conspiracy to protect yourself, you know, like the industry meaning like you’re you’re doing things that’s probably not ethical.

Yeah. In order to protect your brand. Well, it’s also it’s like what’s a conspiracy? you’re you’re you’re you’re two or more people in cahoots to to do some nefarious act or commit a crime. Yeah. And if it’s if it’s not ethical, you can assume it’s a it’s a crime of some sort. Yeah. Therefore, it’s they know what it’s doing. They know it’s doing harm and they know to the fish and then in turn to us like they know all that is anytime something gets into like a PR thing, it’s like they’re trying to cover up they’re doing bad [bleep] Like let’s call spade is [bleep] spade.

True. Uh now the last thing on this is I will keep the door open. I am a little interested in the printing of money as a possibility. It seems seems possible. A lot of it also has to do with the fact that our government overspend. Mhm. Meaning like you know they they for decades our government’s been overspending for things. Yeah. Oh toilet seat $700. Yeah. So they would protect K cups their they would protect their client all the way if they were paying ginormous POS. Oh for sure. You know and they were overcharging them or not to mention if it’s like the US Treasury. It’s like those payments never are late.

They never bounce. It’s like that you that that’s like this the lifeline of this company. Boys, you better shut the [bleep] up. You’re not saying [bleep] Like you ever uh also like a funny little analogy. You ever like do something wrong and then you’re trying to hide that thing that you did wrong and it’s not as bad as maybe somebody is thinking it. Yeah. Like you literally like ate your wife’s leftovers and you’re trying to hide it, but then it turns into something way bigger than it really is because like are you [bleep] cheating on me? Like no, I just ate the [bleep] steak. I’m sorry.

So like maybe they’re trying to hide something but then it’s just Yes. It’s just like a small like they broke like a maritime rule. I know. Like there you go. Like one like little packet of the glitter fell overboard. Like oh we’re [bleep] Anyways, there you go. That’s the glitter conspiracy. Uh hope you enjoyed it. And if you guys have any additional theories you want to throw our way, let us know. We would love it. It’s also fun to go over these like, you know, kind of sillier ones. And yeah, you know, well, it’s our it’s, you know, it’s part of our, like we were saying earlier when we started this, part of the promise, like you guys sign up for the rich uh guy or what do we call rich person, right?

Rich person and you get your own episode. So, if you got an idea, you got going to get it. If you got a conspiracy that you want to want us to hash it out, like, yeah, let’s pick it apart and that sort of thing. Again, we are three dudes, three high school diplomas, not a whole lot else. uh the mess we got. I got gro with three uh smartphones. But the point being is that we’re just kind of regular people looking at things that uh are interesting. Yeah. So don’t like [bleep] like listen like we’re not like it’d be different if I was like some accredited like you know news outlet and I like said something you’re like oh you’re wrong like you’re like we don’t claim to be any if if anything if at the beginning of this episode we tell you don’t listen to this so like I don’t know that’s right and then again so be nice yeah be nice be nice those dudes uh and then again Angela Thank you so much for your support.

Absolute legend. We do we do appreciate it. The u the Patreons keep the show going and so if whether you’re a rich person obviously they do a lot but no matter what level of Patreon you are, we do appreciate it. We But you know what? I want to uh I want for people when they submit their episode, they should submit their theory, too. That’s a great idea. So then we read their theories. Damn, that’s such a [bleep] How the [bleep] did we just figure this out this long [bleep] 50 episodes later? We’re like, what a good vague. That’s a good point. Damn it. Uh, yeah, we have like six or so more in the hopper that are just rich person selections that we have to that we’re working on.

And we will obviously work you in the schedule. We we we try to we try to like pretty much like plan it out so that we we know what we’re doing. And then we we always put the we will get to I promise. I swear there’s a cool one coming up for Halloween. Oh my gosh. We are in the Halloween month. So uh look forward to it. The uh the Halloween specials that we’re doing is the Salem Witch Trials. Yeah. Uh so look forward to that uh next week. And uh yeah, next week we’ll release the first the first episode of that and then it will uh lead lead up into all hall, my friends.

Exactly. So we’ll catch you next time on the Conspiracy Podcast. Nighty night.