The Pony Express; The Mysterious World of Glitter and its History

High Tales of History

In Episode 59, Kt takes the reins and recounts the history of the Pony Express, which bridged the gap in mail and communication delivery while the railroad and telegraph were making their way to the American west coast. Through rain, shine, snow and hostilities, the young men of the Pony Express got the job done! Next, Laurel tells of the fun--but oddly mysterious--history and production of glitter. From its beginnings in Upper Paleolithic cave paintings in the form of mica and other crushed minerals, to its mass production in the U.S. state of--where else?--New Jersey. Glitter has had a long history being used by all kinds of people all over the world so why is the production of it today so shrouded in secrecy? Come for the sparkle, stay for the mystery in episode 58 of Hightailing Through History! *~*~*~*~ Additional Resources and Links: Cosmetic Companies that use Ethically Sourced Mica Plant Based Glitter Companies Mica Mines Controversy Togo and the Serum Run *~*~*~*~ The Socials! ⁠Instagram⁠ - @HightailingHistory ⁠TikTok⁠- @HightailingHistoryPod ⁠Facebook⁠ -Hightailing Through History or @HightailingHistory ⁠Twitter⁠ - @HightailingPod *~*~*~*~ Source Material: Pony Express-- https://postalmuseum.si.edu/research/articles-from-enroute/the-story-of-the-pony-express.html https://www.nps.gov/poex/learn/historyculture/index.htm#:~:text=In%20the%20era%20before%20electronic,the%20Rocky%20Mountains%20became%20obvious. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pony-express-debuts https://www.ponyexpress.org/copy-of-quick-facts#:~:text=Horses%20Used%3A%20Mustangs%2C%20Morgans%2C%20Pintos%2C%20and%20Thoroughbreds.&text=Mochila%3A%20Saddlebag%20designed%20especially%20for,by%20saddle%20maker%20Israel%20Landis.&text=Quickest%20Run%3A%20Carrying%20President%20Lincoln's,7%20days%20and%2017%20hours. Glitter-- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1057740813001150 https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Mica https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/21/style/glitter-factory.html https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/brief-history-glitter-where-it-originated-1647779 https://www.citizen-times.com/story/sports/outdoors/2015/12/16/nature-journal-micas-long-history-cherokee-wnc/77412130/ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/glitter-plastics-ocean-pollution-environment-spd?loggedin=true&rnd=1677252492274 *~*~*~*~ Intro/outro music: "Loopster" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/