I like coloring with crayons because so many different crayon colors exist. Did you know that crayons were used as a kind of waterproof marker? Edwin Binney and Harold Smith, the inventors behind Crayola crayons, combined paraffin wax with their carbon black pigment to make black crayons.
It didn’t take long before people started asking for more colors. Teachers wanted their students to be able to use crayons to make art. The challenge was creating pigments that were safe for people. Carbon black came from oil and charcoal. Binney, Smith, and teachers everywhere knew that children would be rubbing their faces while they were coloring with crayons, so all colors needed to be safe. Safe pigments come from ground up rocks.
Originally, crayons came in eight colors. However, we can change the pigment recipe in order to make new colors. Combining safe pigments in different amounts can create new safe pigments. Today, Crayola has made 120 different color crayons.
Everyday Curiosity is a weekly magazine for kids aged 8-14 that explores math, science, and engineering. Each issue asks one big question and has three related hands-on projects to go deeper into the math, science, and engineering behind everyday observations. The projects use supplies that are already in the house or could be found easily at a grocery store, general department store, or (in rare cases) a hardware store. You can win a one-year subscription by entering in the Back to School Giveaway.
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