Glitter bombing

Glitter bombing is an act of protest in which activists throw glitter on people at public events.

Some legal officials argue glitter bombing is assault and battery. It is possible for glitter to enter the eyes or nose and cause damage to the cornea or other soft tissues potentially irritating them or leading to infection, depending on the size of the glitter. Whether a prosecutor would pursue the charges depends on a number of factors.

In recent years, the practice of glitter bombing has evolved to include the act of sending large quantities of glitter in the mail, either as a prank or to deter thieves.

Postal glitter bombs
Glitter bombs can be sent through the post, so that glitter falls from an envelope or is forcefully ejected from a larger, spring-loaded package when opened. Shipyourenemiesglitter.com went viral in January 2015 as the first postal glitter bomb service to send envelopes filled with glitter to recipients. Shortly after, a video of a spring loaded glitter bomb package from RuinDays.com went viral that demonstrated a postal glitter bomb in action for the first time. There are now many other websites and services offering postal glitter bombs.

YouTube
In December 2018 YouTube content-creator Mark Rober built a glitter bomb that was combined with regular emissions of an aerosolized fart odor to trap package thieves, specifically porch pirates and car thieves. According to him, he was inspired to use engineering to punish porch pirates after he was the victim of package theft. He used 4 phones with cameras and a GPS device so he could record the thief, upload the data, and recover the package. He then sent about 10 out and showed the footage from the packages on his YouTube channel, with the numerous swear words shouted in surprise bleeped out. By December 2023 Rober had continued making new Glitter Bombs and it is now on its sixth and final iteration of a series.