mental_floss magazine
SUBSCRIBE >
GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS >
DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS >
subscriber services >
Where Knowledge Junkies Get Their Fix
Back when life was simpler, Sesame Street produced a video showing how a crayon factory worked. I don’t recall seeing the video as a kid, but watching it now, I learned a few things:
1. Words are not necessary to describe the process of making crayons. An awesome soundtrack, on the other hand, is a must.
2. Making crayons is a messy business. Orange wax everywhere!
3. Skilled crayon-makers can pick up scores of crayons at once using a special two-handed grab.
Set aside two minutes for this look at the origins of a batch of crayons.
(Via Kottke.org.)
See also: 5 Times Crayola® Fired their Crayons.
Comments (31)
Comment
- Follow mental_floss
Am I the only one who has itchy fingers from wanting to pick up all the orange crayons???
posted by Manda on 9-19-2008 at 3:11 pm
Are we sure that this isn’t from Mr. Rogers Neighborhood? I seem to recall Picture Picture having a visit to the crayon factory. Ahhhh Picture Picture, you started my quest for a flat-panel wall-mounted tv at far too young an age.
posted by leeshka on 9-19-2008 at 3:20 pm
Wow! I remember watching that as a kid and it stuck with me. I’m pretty sure I watched it today in much the same way I watched it then, with eyes wide and mouth hanging slightly open.
Thanks Mental_Floss, you just made my day — possibly my week.
posted by Lindsey on 9-19-2008 at 3:20 pm
I also remember watching this when I was little! I thought it was so cool… and I still do :)
posted by Liz on 9-19-2008 at 3:32 pm
I loved this when I saw it as a kid. I love it now. I remembered the part with the swirling crayon wax (my favorite part) as I was watching it and the rest came flying back.
Does anyone else also get the smell of crayons while watching it?
posted by ACute Angle on 9-19-2008 at 3:33 pm
I totally remember this from Mr. Rogers too…Maybe he did a feature on crayon-making too?
posted by Fruppi on 9-19-2008 at 3:35 pm
Yep, I remember this from Mr. Rogers.
posted by Momo on 9-19-2008 at 3:52 pm
Is it just me or does the powder they used to make the orange crayons look suspiciously like the orange powder used in Kraft macaroni & Cheese blue box? I’m just sayin’
posted by JaneM on 9-19-2008 at 3:54 pm
This was definitely Sesame Street. This and “Me and My Llama” — when a girl took her llama to the dentist for a check up — were my all-time favs.
posted by Grover on 9-19-2008 at 3:57 pm
I also remember this from Mr Rogers, not Seasame St – and I was a die-hard fan of both as a child. The Mr Rogers episode with the trip to the crayon factory on Picture Picture was my all-time favorite
thanks for the memories!! :)
posted by Clotho on 9-19-2008 at 3:58 pm
Thanks for this post. This is bringing back so many memories of Sesame Street.
Grover, I loved the Llama video, too!! My absolute favorite was the “Teeny Little Super Hero Guy” when the cups would disappear into the counter top and pop back out.
posted by Melissa on 9-19-2008 at 4:10 pm
ON THE ISSUE OF SESAME STREET VS. MR. ROGERS — the original Kottke.org post (see the “via” link at the bottom of the blog post above, just below the video) discusses this issue a little. Kottke also thought this was from Mr. Rogers, though he ends up concluding that both shows did a similar bit, and that this one was apparently from Sesame Street. He even links to video stills from the Mr. Rogers version!
posted by Chris Higgins on 9-19-2008 at 4:41 pm
I once went on a tour of the Binney & Smith factory in Easton, PA — better known as makers of Crayola. Nowadays, they have a “Crayola Experience” that isn’t a tour but an educational display. Back then, though, you literally wandered through the factory floor, touching distance from the fresh warm crayons. It was awesome.
On an unrelated note: in the “I am neurotic” category, does anybody else click through the Captchas, refreshing them until you get just the “right” one? I do.
posted by Southern Buddhist on 9-19-2008 at 4:49 pm
Okay, good, I, too, was coming in here to post that my brain has long attributed the crayon factory bit to Mr. Rogers, and I am glad to know I’m not remembering things completely incorrectly.
posted by Jenny on 9-19-2008 at 4:59 pm
I loved watching it, I don’t remember seeing as a kid but it is fascinating even today.
posted by jessyz on 9-19-2008 at 5:12 pm
This version is definitely from Sesame Street, however there also was a version on Mister Rogers. The Mister Rogers version played on picture picture and in that one they made yellow crayons. You can watch a video (along with several other picture picture factory tours) here at the Mister Rogers PBS website. It’s under the “Mister Rogers House” section. Click on picture picture. There’s also a pictoral overview of the crayon making film there.
posted by Brooke on 9-19-2008 at 5:44 pm
add me to the list of folks who remember this from mr. rogers rather than sesame street. it’s amazing how this particular video sticks in your head; one of my coworkers just ran across the office because she recalled it just by hearing the *music*…
thanks for posting!
posted by jen on 9-19-2008 at 6:03 pm
Hands down, the best Mr. Rogers episode ever was when he toured a crayon factory.
posted by Holly on 9-19-2008 at 6:13 pm
I remember this too, and I’m a child of the 90’s. This must be the reason I’m in love with How It’s Made now!
posted by Mike on 9-19-2008 at 6:50 pm
If you enjoyed this segment you should watch “How its Made” on the Discovery and Discovery Science channels.
posted by B on 9-19-2008 at 8:00 pm
Heck yeah I remember this! I remember trying to draw a butterfly like the one in the beginning and failing miserably.
posted by Erin on 9-19-2008 at 8:43 pm
I was thinking the same thing until I realized this vid is not from Mr Rogers- He always narrates his vids and it starts in his picture picture. I saw them both in the early 80’s and again within the past few years. This one is from sesame street
Speaking of Mister Rogers my recaptcha is “in coroner”
posted by Sarah on 9-20-2008 at 12:44 am
Wow, thanks for clearing up a long-standing childhood memory! I thought it was from Mr. Rogers BEFORE seeing it… but yeah it’s definitely a Sesame style clip. And how do I know I’m remembering this one? Because those orange crayons are the source of my love for the color orange… right down to the orange tips I’ve dyed my hair with :-) Crayons… is there anything more influential?
posted by Colleen on 9-20-2008 at 8:37 am
i totally remember this from when i was a kid! in fact, i’ve watched many mr. rogers episodes as an adult hoping to see it again. love it!!
posted by Shaunda on 9-20-2008 at 1:34 pm
i totally remember this as a kid! in fact, i’ve watched many mr. rogers episodes as an adult hoping to see it again. love it!!
posted by Shaunda on 9-20-2008 at 1:40 pm
I thought this was from Mr. Rogers, too, but I guess his would’ve ALWAYS had narration. I remember the one with the trombone factory on Picture-Picture. The muted brass punctuation at every step was perfect and memorable. I turn 31 this week…
Captcha: sun bitten
posted by Dave on 9-20-2008 at 2:28 pm
I think this is my favorite thing ever from Sesame Street.
posted by Julia on 9-20-2008 at 2:42 pm
Hmmm…seems to me there was a follow up to this segment in which they show how people have them surgically removed from their sinus cavity. I could be possibly be mistaken.
posted by GoatBarn on 9-21-2008 at 1:26 pm
Crayons taste yucky!
posted by Tdave on 9-21-2008 at 11:23 pm
great vid. im 29 and this definitely takes me back. btw, does anyone know the name of tune that begins at 0:19 please? thanks :)
posted by Refugee48 on 9-22-2008 at 9:32 am
The mr rogers site has the Picture Picture videos. They have a crayon factory but not the same video.
pbskids[dot]org[slash]rogers[slash]R_house[slash]picpic [dot]htm
real media player required. >:(
posted by Austin Baker on 9-22-2008 at 1:52 pm