It's Crayola's National Crayon Day, and for most kids, crayons are a staple in their playrooms.
Some children only choose their favorite colors to draw a masterpiece, while others select one of the hundreds of hues that range from basic red, orange, yellow, green and blue to Tickle Me Pink, Inchworm and Mango Tango.
The Crayola brand was born in 1903, with a name coined by Alice Binney, wife of company founder Edwin and a former schoolteacher. It comes from "craie," the French word for chalk, and "ola," for oleaginous, or oily. In 1958, Prussian blue, the first Crayola crayon color to get a new name, became midnight blue. Teachers prompted the name change, as children could no longer relate to Prussian history. And, in 1990, for the first time in history, Crayola retired eight colors. Maize, lemon yellow, blue gray, raw umber, green blue, orange red, orange yellow and violet blue are enshrined in the Crayola Hall of Fame.
To celebrate National Crayon Day, Crayola shared a few fun facts you may not know:
- The most popular Crayola crayon box: 24 count
- The world's largest Crayola crayon: 15 feet high, 16 inches wide and weighing 1,500 pounds -- and it's blue
- The number of Crayola crayons produced to date: 223 billion
- The number of Crayola crayons produced daily: 13 million
- The most popular Crayola crayon color: Blue