'Glitter Bomb Trap' Video Has Illinois Connection

WINNETKA, IL — Inspiration for a project featured in a former NASA engineer's YouYube video comes from none other than the main character of a famous Christmas movie with Illinois ties — and an equally famous home right here in the Chicago suburbs. Mark Rober credits "Home Alone" protagonist Kevin McAllister, his "childhood hero," as his inspiration for part of the"glitter bomb trap," a fake package contraption created to get back at thieves Rober caught stealing packages from his porch.

The fake package "trap" is filled with a circuit board that detonates glitter, "fart spray" and four smartphones set to capture the thief's reaction and keep track of the package's location.

Rober's "Package Thief vs. Glitter Bomb Trap" video has been viewed more than 12.3 million times since its Monday, Dec. 17 debut.

In the video, Rober takes viewers through a quick overview of the trap's creation, which he said took six months, several design iterations, plenty of testing, and the help of a friend.

Rober said his favorite part of the fake package is the label, as it has Kevin McAllister's listed as the sender and the return address is that of the Winnetka house where "Home Alone" was filmed. The "glitter bomb" is being "shipped" to the two burglars at the center for the classic film, Harry and Marv, on — where else? — Wet Bandit Way.

Illinois residents share Rober's affection for the 1990 classic, which is the state's favorite Christmas movie, according to one study. The Winnetka home is also a landmark in the Land of Lincoln.

The video includes footage of the"glitter bomb trap" in action, as well as thieves throwing it away from them. Rober, who said "he's completely out of his comfort zone" when it comes to locating the package, compares the process to "recovering the black box" of a crashed airplane, and said the captured footage would still be able to be uploaded to the cloud without the box.

Watch Rober as he walks viewers through his Kevin McAllister-esque trap for the package thieves. Be sure to watch to the end to see Rober's plan come to fruition.

Image via YouTube