RESEARCH

Sticky Glitter

Trying to understand the staying power of the shiny stuff

Scientists have been trying to uncover why glitter seems to stick to everything it comes into contact with. With explanations ranging from static electricity to theories linking to those that explain why geckos can walk up walls, it seems that experts still aren’t clear.
Glitter is made up from tiny pieces of mylar plastic with an ultrathin coating of metal. However, Joe Colleran from Meadowbrook Inventions – the company that invented glitter as we know it today – says that the best way to get the pesky particles off of skin is to use talc powder or compressed air. Because glitter sticks to anything oily or damp, even the surface of the skin creates a magnet like attraction for the shiny particles.

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