Do you love glitters? Thank the pretty Cleopatra!
What’s that one thing that a unicorn, a fairy and a princess have in common? The answer is glitter. In fact, if fairy tales and children’s story books are to be believed, everything can turn a little bit better by simply adding glitter to it. And what makes ordinary glitter extraordinary? Its sparkle, of course! But have you ever wondered where did glitter come from or how did it get its shine? Let us find out together.
Glitter in ancient cave paintings
To understand how glitter emerged, we have to turn the clock back to the Upper Paleolithic Period: 40,000 to 10,000 BC. Cave paintings from this age exhibit a kind of shimmer, which, according to experts, came from flecks of red, black and white-coloured mica. As you might be aware, mica is a kind of shiny rock, and flakes from this were used by pre-ancient tribes such as Mayan to make traditional glitter. This was used not only in cave paintings to give them a sparkling appearance, but also temple decorations. However, it wasn’t until the 14th century that the word ‘glitter’ was first used. Turns out, it was derived from the Old Norse term ‘glitra’ meaning “to gleam.”
Glitter and Queen Cleopatra!
There isn’t a history book that talks about ancient Egyptian civilisation but doesn’t mention Queen Cleopatra. The epitome of beauty, this legendary Queen of Egypt (from 51 to 30 BC) has been known for knowing beauty tricks that will even beat today’s top celebrities. For instance, it was Cleopatra who came up with the idea of ‘kajal’. She also told the world that taking a bath in milk and saffron can improve complexion. So, it isn’t really a surprise to learn that she was also the one responsible for coming up with glitter. Guess how she made glitter? By crushing up beetles! Sounds yucky, isn’t it? Well, beetles do have a beautiful and shiny outer texture called carapace that shines like metal or jewel. Maybe that’s why they glow so much under the light. In fact, there’s a name for their shining nature: Iridescence.
Present-day glitter
Over the years, besides mica and beetles, various generations came up with their own form of glitter. Some of the common glitter raw materials included aluminium foil, titanium dioxide and iron oxides – all shiny in nature. These materials were combined into thin sheets and then further painted with bright and shiny metallic colours to enhance their sparkling quality under the influence of light. Such sheets are then cut up into millions of tiny pieces that we call ‘glitter.’
However, all these materials were costly, which is why, in 1934, a New Jersey-based machinist and cattle rancher named Henry Ruschmann made his own glitter. In fact, this was purely accidental. He had a hobby of grinding copolymer plastic films into precise mini pieces, that he collected from landfills. When he realised that thousands of such materials together exhibited an extraordinary kind of shine, he decided to produce them in bulk and make money of it. And the rest, as they say, is history. Modern-day glitter was born and hasn’t been out of business ever since!
So, the next time you use glitter in your art and crafts project or in cosmetics, make sure to thank the Mayans, Cleopatra and of course the father of modern glitter, Mr. Ruschmann.
Fun fact: Having understood the potential of his discovery, Ruschmann even launched his own glitter-making company called Meadowbrook Inventions, that still happens to be one of the largest glitter producers in the world.