The world went a bit duller when Crayola announced in March that it was retiring its sunny Dandelion yellow crayon that had been in kids’ lives for decades.
Now, it’s unveiled a new color that it hopes will chase away your crayon blues: a blue hue that the company has yet to name. And Crayola wants your help with naming the color, inspired by the discovery of the YInMn pigment.
The company publicly unveiled the vibrant blue crayon in a ceremony Friday at Oregon State University, where chemist Mas Subramanian and his team discovered the YInMn pigment in 2009. It was the first new blue pigment discovered in 200 years. YInMn refers to the yttrium (Y), indium (In) and manganese (Mn) that make up the pigment.
After Crayola put Dandelion to rest, it tantalized fans with the promise of a new color in the “blue family” that they could help name. Weirdly, most people remained fixated on orange-ish names on #NewCrayonColors.
Though there was also an interesting “persistent pink.”
A few got serious and stayed true blue, coming up with several possible names for the new crayon that Crayola had promised to reveal this month.
Now the crayon-naming contest is on for real, with an actual blue to inspire colorful ideas.
The naming contest is open to anyone in North America and ends June 2, with $100 weekly prizes awarded for the best name until then. Crayola will post the top five names and fans get to vote on the best. The company will announce the big winner in September.
“Fans in North America have told us through previous polls and surveys that blue is their favorite color,” said Crayola executive Melanie Boulden. “Now, not only will they have a new blue color to fall in love with, but also the opportunity to be a part of Crayola history by naming it.”
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