[Rockhounds] a puzzle - where did these glass beads originate?

[pmodreski at aol.com]

Dear Rockhounds,


I'd like to ask if anyone has a suggestion as to why a fellow I talked to this summer at the Pikes Pikes Peak Gem & Mineral Show, would have been finding round, sold little glass beads distributed in the soil, somewhere here in Colorado (I believe he said it was out in the plains, somewhere east of Colorado Springs). The beads, evidently glass of some type, are between about 3-4 mm in diameter, and range from near-spherical to not quite. Most are translucent, light to dark gray; a few are near white, or near-colorless, or near black. He had collected and showed me "a jar full of them". 


I told him I was pretty certain they were artificial, not natural, just "glass beads" of some sort, but I've gotten no clear idea just how/why they were made or distributed where he found them.


I understand that glass beads of some sort are used in oil well drilling or pipelines, but I have no personal experience with actually seeing these.  From browsing online, they appear to be much smaller (a few thousandths of an inch?), and pictures I have seen, seem to show just clear, transparent glass beads.  But I don't know much about this, so I may not have explored all the possibilities.  The fellow who showed me these, said there was no particular evidence of drilling or of a pipeline in the area where he found these (but, who knows?).


I just posted a picture of these on facebook (along with a similar message, asking if anyone has an idea what they are and what they were used for or left-over from), and I believe anyone can go to this link to see the picture & post, whether or not you have a facebook account; it's at



https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210329746143146&set=a.1274590587989.156989.1326669554&type=3&theater





Thank you! I'll appreciate any ideas. Has anyone seen anything like this? Thanks!



Pete Modreski (Denver, CO)