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Nov 8, 2009
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Crayola Crayon Colors

A Timeline

1903

Binney & Smith Co. introduces the first Crayola Crayons. There are 8 colors in a box:

blackbluebrown
greenorangered
violetyellow 

1949

There are 40 colors added:

apricotbittersweetblue green
blue violetbrick redburnt sienna
carnation pinkcornflowerflesh1
goldgraygreen blue
green yellowlemon yellowmagenta
mahoganymaizemaroon
melonolive greenorange red
orange yelloworchidperiwinkle
pine green Prussian blue2red orange
red violetsalmonsea green
silverspring greentan
thistleturquoise blueviolet blue
violet redwhiteyellow green
yellow orange  
1. Name changed to “peach” in 1962.
2. Name changed to “midnight blue” in 1958.

There are now 48 colors in the biggest box of Crayola Crayons.

1958

There are 16 colors added:

aquamarineblue grayburnt orange
cadet bluecopperforest green
goldenrodIndian red1lavender
mulberrynavy blueplum
raw siennaraw umbersepia
sky blue  
1. Name changed to “chestnut” in 1999.

There are now 64 colors in the biggest box of Crayola Crayons. For the first time, the big box comes with a built-in sharpener.

In response to educators' requests, “Prussian blue” is renamed “midnight blue.” Teachers felt that children were no longer familiar enough with Prussian history to recognize that this crayon color referred to the famous deep-blue uniforms of Prussian soldiers.

1962

Partly in response to the civil rights movement, Crayola decides to change the name of the “flesh” crayon to “peach.” Renaming this crayon was a way of recognizing that skin comes in a variety of shades.

1972

There are 8 fluorescent colors added:

chartreusehot magentaultra blue
ultra greenultra orangeultra pink
ultra redultra yellow 
In 1990 these were renamed:
atomic tangerineblizzard bluehot magenta
laser lemonoutrageous orangescreamin' green
shocking pinkwild watermelon 

There are now 72 colors in the biggest box of Crayola Crayons.

1990

There are 16 colors added:

ceruleandandelionelectric lime
fuchsiajungle greenmagic mint
neon carrotpurple pizzazzradical red
razzle dazzle rose royal purplesunglow
teal blueunmellow yellowwild strawberry
vivid tangerine  

There are 8 colors retired:

blue graygreen bluelemon yellow
maizeorange redorange yellow
raw umberviolet blue 

There are now 80 colors in the biggest box of Crayola Crayons.

Crayola felt that the retired colors (and their names) were too dull to appeal to children today.

1993

There are 16 colors added:

asparaguscerisedenim
granny smith applemacaroni and cheesemauvelous
pacific bluepurple mountain's majestyrazzmatazz
robin's egg blueshamrocktickle me pink
timber wolftropical rain foresttumbleweed
wisteria  

There are now 96 colors in the biggest box of Crayola Crayons.

Crayon lovers chose the 16 newest color names through Crayola's “Name the New Color Contest,” part of the company's 90th anniversary celebration.

1998

There are 24 colors added:

almondantique brassbanana mania
beaverblue bellbrink pink
canary Caribbean greencotton candy
cranberrydesert sandeggplant
fernfuzzy wuzzy brownmanatee
mountain meadowouter spacepig pink
pink flamingopurple heartshadow
sunset orangetorch redvivid violet

There are now 120 colors in the biggest box of Crayola Crayons.

1999

In response to educators' requests, “Indian red” is renamed “chestnut.” Contrary to popular belief, the original name of this color was not meant to represent the skin color of Native Americans. Instead, the name referred to a reddish pigment from India that was often used in oil paints.

The new name was the winner of a contest that attracted more than 250,000 entries. Other ideas for renaming the color included “crab claw red,” “mars red,” “baseball mitt,” “red clay,” and “old penny.”

2000

Thistle was removed and replaced by indigo; torch red was given a new name, scarlet.

A number of small “specialty sets” of Crayola Crayons are available. These include glitter crayons, pearl brite crayons, and techno-brite crayons.

2003

There are 4 colors added:

inch wormjazzberry jammango tango
wild blue yonder  

And 4 colors are retired:

blizzard bluemagic mintmulberry
teal blue  

To mark Crayola's 100th anniversary, crayon users named four new colors and voted out four other shades.


Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

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