Monday, January 26, 2015

Austrl* (for Australia, Australian)




A couple weeks ago, NPR reported on a unique start-up company in Australia.  For the low price of only $9.99, shipyourenemiesglitter.com (motto: “We Send Glitter to the People You Hate”) provides a service they describe as follows:



Pay us money, provide an address anywhere in the world & we'll send them so much glitter in an envelope that they'll be finding that s$@! everywhere for weeks. We'll also include a note telling the person exactly why they're receiving this terrible gift. Hint: the glitter will be mixed in with the note thus increasing maximum spillage.

And exactly how much demand is there for such a service?  According to NPR, the company was inundated with orders—so many that the Web site crashed and they exhausted their seven-color stockpile of glitter.

Austrl*, like the desire for revenge, is more common than you might think.  There are 11 instances of it in the OhioLINK catalog, and 856 entries (662 English-language ones) in WorldCat.

(Photo of Glitter Particles, from Wikimedia Commons)

Deb Kulczak

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