Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet…no, this isn’t just a list of all of the colors of the rainbow, but rather just a few of the more than 400 different shades of crayon colors that Crayola has produced since its humble beginnings in Pennsylvania in 1903!
What a perfect opportunity to celebrate the bright and colorful addition these simple wax sticks have made to the world with National Crayon Day!
History of National Crayon Day
Crayola began its life as a company in 1885 when cousins Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith took over a pigment business that Edwin’s father had previously owned. By 1903, the cousins had created a set of colorful drawing sticks for young artists by combining paraffin wax with non-toxic, kid-friendly pigments. While children had often used chalk or paints for drawing, those were both messy. Crayola came up with their brilliant solution–and it has lasted for more than a century!
The name Crayola seems to have come from a combination of two words created by the founder’s wife. It combined craie, which was French for “chalk” and oily, to create the company’s brand name.
The first set only contained 8 crayons, but now the boxes have gotten much larger with many more colors. Since the beginning, the company has developed a core set of 120 crayon colors; but they have also come out with many unique sets. This includes metallic colored crayons, gem tones colors, and even scented ones. One important development made by the company was a box of skin tones that make it possible to color pictures of humans of almost any cultural background.
Over time, the colors have changed, and the names have become more creative. Some of the most interesting Crayola crayon names include:
- Fuzzy Wuzzy Brown
- Robin’s Egg Blue
- Tropical Rain Forest (blue-green)
- Macaroni and Cheese (yellow-orange)
- Razzle Dazzle Rose
- Purple Mountains Majesty
- Tickle Me Pink
- Granny Smith Apple (medium green)
In the more than 100 years since the company began making them, more than 50 colors have been retired.
Today, the company makes about 12 million crayons every single day. Obviously, children (and kids-at-heart) all over the world enjoy and appreciate the artistic ability that is afforded them by the use of Crayola crayons.
And that’s a great reason to celebrate National Crayon Day!
JOKE OF THE DAY
waiting patiently to go for a walk...
WORD OF THE DAY
encyclical
Vatican stamps commemorating Pope Leo XIII’s encyclicals “In his famous 1891 encyclical Rerum novarum, Pope Leo outlined the rights of workers to a fair wage, safe working conditions, and the formation of trade unions ...”
MEANING:noun: An official letter.
adjective: For wide circulation.
ETYMOLOGY:From Greek kyklos (circle, cycle). Earliest documented use: 1616.
NOTES:A more common word for an encyclical is circular. In the Roman Catholic Church, a letter from the pope to bishops, usually dealing with the matters of doctrine, is called an encyclical.
USAGE:“[Robert Armstrong] also possessed a dry humour. One encyclical he sent to senior Whitehall officials deploring leaks was itself leaked. When the journalist, now filmmaker, Paul Greengrass, raised this during a Granada TV World in Action interview, Armstrong replied: ‘I was very sad that it took so long as six weeks to leak. I hoped it would leak much sooner than that.’”
Richard Norton-Taylor; Lord Armstrong of Ilminster; The Guardian (London, UK); Apr 5, 2020.
adjective: For wide circulation.
Richard Norton-Taylor; Lord Armstrong of Ilminster; The Guardian (London, UK); Apr 5, 2020.
human, I don't think I like it up here...
IDIOM OF THE DAYWhat does 'bull-headed' mean?
Meaning: If you're a bull-headed, you're stubborn or inflexible.
is this where I planted my little dappled willow?
thanks, Patsy
Spring is a time for births
(Not So) TOTALLY USELESS FACTS OF THE DAY
What do you call the top (or tip) of umbrella? The part that extends above the umbrella canopy itself is called a ferrule.
Outer space is only an hour away, if you could drive your car straight into the sky at 60 MPH.
Pangolins are the only mammals with scales.
where did my parents go????YOUR CALL by Sylvia, CAN DO Correspondent
plenty busy this Spring
PATTERN BOOK FRIDAY
she wondered if her cat would open the box if she left it there long enough
PICTURES OF THE DAY
The California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) is a critically endangered species of North American bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae. It has the largest wingspan of any bird found in North America and is one of the heaviest. The condor is a scavenger and eats large amounts of carrion. The California Condor is one of the world's rarest bird species. In 1987, all 22 remaining wild individuals were captured. Thanks to captive breeding, numbers rose, and beginning in 1991, they were reintroduced to the wild. As of March 2008, there are 297 condors known to be living including 146 in the wild. |
UK
knit
thanks, Stella
knit
thanks, Vicky
knit
knit
crochet
PANTRY RECIPE thanks, Debbie
CROCKPOT RECIPE thanks, Anna
Both vegetarian and vegan diets may provide health benefits, including reduced body weight, lower cholesterol levels, and decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, it is important for vegetarians and vegans to ensure that they are meeting all of their nutritional requirements.
SWEETS RECIPE thanks, Julie
COOKBOOK FRIDAY
Answer: The man’s son
Answer: Fire
CRAFTS thanks, Ellie
CHILDREN'S CORNER thanks, Renee
Cardboard Tube Bunnies and Chicks
PUZZLE
WORD SEARCH
| black board carry cheap clock closest | common convey crazy dreadnaught element exhibit extreme | halyard lest locker plain premium preservation | remember roam sadness select settle shook | snapshot spring standard strike tear venture |
SUDOKU .. medium
solution:
thanks for the pics, Bev
If You Could Learn Any Language Fluently, What Would It Be?
QUOTE thanks, Michele
CLEVER thanks, Stacy
Passover planning: Nine tips that will make your holiday easier
EYE OPENER thanks, Mia
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. -Leo Buscaglia, author, speaker and professor (31 Mar 1924-1998)
Are the big atoms moving?
