Crayola wasn’t the first company to make and produce crayons, but they were the ones who became the most popular.

Crayola was invented by Smith & Binney Company in 1902 in Easton, Pennsylvania. Their first products were barn paint and chalk. The company soon came to realize they needed safe, affordable wax crayons.

Crayola produced the first box of eight crayons in 1903, and it was sold for 5 cents. The eight crayons colors were red, yellow, blue, green, orange, purple, brown and black.

Crayola has had arguments with people on their representation. While they do have bright colors, they seemed to lack in the representation of different skin tones. The brand does have a peach color which was the closest to a skin color. In 2020, Crayola decided to create “Colors of the World Crayons,” which includes many different skin colors.

Crayola has removed some popular colors throughout the years, meaning that some names have been retired, and certain crayon colors were discontinued. However, they still have over 500 different colors.

One popular color that was retired was named “Dandelion.” On March 31, 2017, Crayola decided to remove this fan favorite, which would later get replaced with a new color named “Bluetiful”.

Over the years, Crayola has made over 100 billion crayons, totalling to almost 3 billion crayons a year. Crayola is widely known for the distinct smell of their crayons. COS, an office product company, said, “That familiar smell is the 18th most familiar scent for adults in the USA.” Over the years, it seems that Crayola crayons have only been growing. Going from only getting eight crayons a box from now being able to get over 200 crayons in one box!