Fun Facts about Crayons

Crayons are a staple of childhood, and now adult coloring books are incredibly popular.  This weekend I visited the Crayola Store in Kansas City with my tween, and they had a lot of fun facts about crayons. Check  and expand your view of color.

– Binney & Smith produced the first box of Crayola crayons in 1903 and sold it for a nickle. It contained red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, brown, and black sticks.

– Crayons have a unique scent, and it’s pretty recognizable. On a list of the 20 most recognizable scents, crayons placed 18th. (Coffee and peanut butter were #1 and #2, respectively.)

– Crayola introduced 8 bright new colors in 1990, including cerulean, royal blue, fushcia, jungle green, vivid tangerine, wild strawberry, dandelion, and teal blue. Eight other colors were retired: maize, raw umber, lemon yellow, blue gray, orange yellow, orange red, green blue and violet blue – are retired into the Crayola Hall of Fame in Easton, Pennsylvania.

– In 1962, Crayola changed the name “Flesh” to “Peach” to recognize that there are many different flesh tones.

– “Indian red” was retired in 1999 and reintroduced as “Chestnut.”

– Crayons are popular worldwide. Crayola sells products in 80 countries, including Iceland and Belize. Crayon labels are printed in 11 different languages.

Favorite Crayon Colors of Famous People

– Mr. Rogers’ favorite color was Lemon Yellow. He explained that it was his favorite because he could see it easily. He was partially colorblind.

– Charles Schultz’s favorite color was Copper. He said that it reminded him of new pennies and the jacks he used to play with as a child.

– Whoopi Goldberg’s favorite color is Magenta. “It bellows to be noticed, and if you’re shy like I was you need something in your corner. What better way to face the world than armed with Magenta.”

– Former President George W. Bush’s favorite color is Blue Bell.

Sources: Signs posted around the Crayola Store; Crayola.com