The End of a Legacy

Crayola to Remove One of Original 24 Crayons

Crayons%2C+Photo+courtesy+of+Today

Crayons, Photo courtesy of Today

Janet Han, Photojournalist

Everybody has picked up a crayon at some point in their life, and chances are, it was made by Crayola. When it comes to crayons, Crayola is the number one leading brand, with over a century of operation and numerous colors of crayons to back it up. On the last few days of March, however, Crayola decided to make a drastic change; for the first time in history, Crayola is retiring one of the original colors in its 24 color pack.

Initially, Crayola planned to announce exactly what color they were retiring on Friday, March 31st, in honor of National Crayon Day. But crayon enthusiasts were shocked to hear that they had revealed which color was going to be gone for good ahead of schedule. On Thursday, March 30th, Crayola said on their official Twitter account that “our beloved Dandelion decided to announce his retirement early!” and added that “there’s no taming an adventurous spirit! #NationalCrayonDay.” Alice Ding (9) commented on this decision by saying

“I’m glad that they chose Dandelion” because “it’s just not that important.”

At first, no one was quite sure what had caused the company to announce it earlier. Originally it was meant to be unveiled during a live stream on Friday. But soon the reason surfaced: when one intuitive Target shopper found the secret on a crayon box that read “Dandelion is retiring!”, a quick picture of the box proved to be the ultimate “#SpoilerAlert,” as the shopper put it.

NPR spoke with Jackie Miller, a spokesperson for Crayola, about the situation. He said the retailer didn’t spoil the surprise with the early announcement, but that “Dandelion was so excited to announce his retirement he snuck a few packages out of the factory and onto the shelves of a handful of his favorite retailers last night. One lucky fan came across the box and couldn’t wait to share the news with the world, and neither could we!”

Luckily, Dandelion is not just disappearing immediately. Soon it will no longer be produced, but before that happens, ABC says that “he’ll have a retirement tour across North America” and “do the things he’s always dreamed of doing.” Additionally, the tour will include Instagram updates in order to document his travels.

But never fear, the 24-color box is not yet going to be reduced to a 23-color box. Crayola is set to create a brand new color to take the place of Dandelion. The senior vice president of Crayola informed NPR that their company is already “hard at work getting ready to introduce a new color” that will “be part of the blue hue family.” Other reports suggested that the color will likely be a darker blue and that there will be a contest to name the new color that will be held over the summer.

For now, enjoy Dandelion while it lasts, and look out for the brand new shade of blue that will be joining the original 24-pack of crayons.