1 00:00:00,920 --> 00:00:03,880 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:11,879 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:11,920 --> 00:00:15,840 Speaker 1: I'm Polly Fine, I'm Traycyvie Wilson, and we have a 4 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:21,159 Speaker 1: legitimately thought sad an all story today. Hey, Tracy, have 5 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:24,160 Speaker 1: you got men on this whole trend of adult coloring 6 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:26,960 Speaker 1: that's all the rage. I have not personally bought any 7 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:29,000 Speaker 1: of them, but I am aware of it. And one 8 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:32,040 Speaker 1: of the things that I've seen happening on the tumbler 9 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:35,159 Speaker 1: that we have in the tumbler dash word where I 10 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: see all the tumbler stuff that we follow is museum 11 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:43,239 Speaker 1: collections issuing things from their collection as coloring pages were 12 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:46,240 Speaker 1: grown ups. Yeah, they did a big social media push 13 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:48,519 Speaker 1: called color Our Collections where a lot of them. You 14 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:51,200 Speaker 1: search that hashtag, you will find stuff all over Twitter, 15 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:54,120 Speaker 1: and they're sharing each other's collections in many cases like 16 00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:56,640 Speaker 1: they're linking to each other. But this sudden boom and 17 00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: coloring books and coloring products aimed at the adult market 18 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: has been really fun to watch. But to me, one 19 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:05,320 Speaker 1: of the most fascinating aspects of it has been watching 20 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:08,760 Speaker 1: the delight with which my friends have been purchasing new 21 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:13,320 Speaker 1: crayons to color. With a true confession, I did too. No, 22 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 1: I have not bought new crayons because there is a 23 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 1: literal drawer full of crayons directly next to me, like 24 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:22,440 Speaker 1: there's there are hundreds of crayons and this draor next 25 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:25,640 Speaker 1: to me right now. Well, it's funny because I have 26 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:28,480 Speaker 1: a lot of friends who are artists, and um, you know, 27 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:32,600 Speaker 1: plenty of them have really fancy pants unicorn type art tools. 28 00:01:33,080 --> 00:01:34,920 Speaker 1: But even so a lot of them have bought new 29 00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:37,399 Speaker 1: crayons to color, and coloring books with which I just 30 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 1: find fabulous, were attached to crayons. And the unique paraffine 31 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:44,560 Speaker 1: smell of crayons was actually once ranked number eighteen on 32 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 1: a list of twenty cents that American adults most readily recognized. 33 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:51,400 Speaker 1: That was part of a Yale University study some years ago. 34 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:55,760 Speaker 1: And so we're talking about crayons today, and while Crayola 35 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:58,800 Speaker 1: is not the only brand of crayons, it's certainly the 36 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:01,120 Speaker 1: most ubiquitous, at least here in the US. So we're 37 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:05,080 Speaker 1: focusing on the Crayolas story. We no shade thrown to 38 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:08,239 Speaker 1: Rose Art or Dixon Ticonderoga, which makes praying crayons or 39 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:11,240 Speaker 1: any of the other companies that produce crayons, but Crayola 40 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:14,640 Speaker 1: is sort of the big one, uh, and they have 41 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:17,120 Speaker 1: some interesting stuff. We're gonna talk about how they're often 42 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: they often get all the credit for inventing crayons. There 43 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:23,760 Speaker 1: were things that were similar already in existence. We're going 44 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:25,800 Speaker 1: to talk about that some. But that's the scoop. We're 45 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:28,560 Speaker 1: gonna talk about the Creola story today, and so it's 46 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:31,440 Speaker 1: a little lighter. There's no big tragedies. I'm happy to 47 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:33,360 Speaker 1: report ahead of time. I hope that's not a spoiler 48 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 1: for people, but we've had a lot of dark stuff, 49 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 1: so I thought we we might enjoy. The closest to 50 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:42,440 Speaker 1: a tragedy is that this story starts a while ago, 51 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 1: so that people involved are deceased. But that's really that's 52 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:50,040 Speaker 1: not tragic so much as it's just gonna happen, so 53 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:53,119 Speaker 1: it was starting at the beginning. Joseph Benny was born 54 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:56,320 Speaker 1: in England on December six, eighteen thirty six, and he 55 00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:59,680 Speaker 1: moved to the United States in eighteen sixty. That same year, 56 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:03,080 Speaker 1: his sister Eliza gave birth to a son named ce 57 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:07,840 Speaker 1: Harold Smith uh and in eighteen sixty four, then twenty 58 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:10,240 Speaker 1: eight year old Binny started a company called the Peak 59 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:13,760 Speaker 1: Skill Chemical Works in Peakskill, New York. And this company 60 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:16,440 Speaker 1: produced lamp black, which is a black pigment made from 61 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:20,440 Speaker 1: soot or whale oil, and also produced hardwood charcoal for 62 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:22,960 Speaker 1: heating fuel, which was ground and package there in the 63 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:26,680 Speaker 1: Peak Skill facility. As his company was getting off the ground, 64 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:29,639 Speaker 1: Benny was also starting a family. He and his new 65 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 1: bride Annie Eliza Conklin and there had their son, Edwin 66 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:37,200 Speaker 1: on November eighteen sixty six. They would go on to 67 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:42,600 Speaker 1: have seven more children. But we're mentioning these these individual 68 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:45,680 Speaker 1: offspring because they're going to be pretty paramount as the 69 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:48,520 Speaker 1: story goes on. So in eighteen eighty, Binny moved the 70 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:51,400 Speaker 1: corporate office of the Peak Skill Chemical Works to New 71 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:54,119 Speaker 1: York City to expand the business. And at that point 72 00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:56,840 Speaker 1: he hired his nephew, see Harold Smith, the one that 73 00:03:56,880 --> 00:03:59,320 Speaker 1: had been born to his sister Eliza, who was twenty 74 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:02,200 Speaker 1: at the time, and went by Harold into a sales position. 75 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 1: And while he was still a teenager, Joseph Binny's own son, 76 00:04:05,920 --> 00:04:09,720 Speaker 1: Edwin Binney also joined the business, which was then renamed 77 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,240 Speaker 1: the Peak Skill Chemical Company. It had been Peak Skill 78 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:16,279 Speaker 1: Chemical works. Peak Skille Chemical expanded their offerings to include 79 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:18,560 Speaker 1: a paint made with red iron oxide, and this was 80 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:22,200 Speaker 1: an extremely popular product and Peaks Skill Chemicals Red paint 81 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:25,080 Speaker 1: was used on many barns in the United States Northeast, 82 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:29,480 Speaker 1: and though Joseph had expanded his business just five years prior, 83 00:04:29,839 --> 00:04:32,839 Speaker 1: in eighty five he retired and at that point his 84 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:35,599 Speaker 1: son Edwyn and his nephew Harold, who had already proven 85 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:38,440 Speaker 1: that they could work really, really well together, reformed the 86 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:42,080 Speaker 1: company as partners under the name Binny and Smith. Benny 87 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:45,200 Speaker 1: and Smith continued to grow the family business throughout the 88 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:48,400 Speaker 1: late eighteen hundreds, they worked on the development of carbon black. 89 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:51,039 Speaker 1: The pigment industry had been on a quest for a 90 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:53,720 Speaker 1: black or black than lamp black for a long time, 91 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:57,800 Speaker 1: and it appeared that Benny and Smith had finally found it, so, 92 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:01,119 Speaker 1: as we said, even darker than lamp black. Carbon black 93 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 1: pigment is created by burning hydrocarbons in insufficient air. So 94 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:08,000 Speaker 1: this is like the quickest and dirtiest of chemistry lessons. 95 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:12,720 Speaker 1: But hydrocarbons are organic compounds that contain only hydrogen and carbon. 96 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:17,599 Speaker 1: Common examples include methane, propane, butane, and octane because of 97 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:21,039 Speaker 1: an abundance of natural gas deposits in Pennsylvania found in 98 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:24,360 Speaker 1: the eighteen eighties. Benny and Smith used that discovery to 99 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:27,440 Speaker 1: their advantage as they worked on the development of carbon black, 100 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:31,000 Speaker 1: and Edwin Benny held the patent for a carbon black 101 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:36,240 Speaker 1: manufacture apparatus starting in That patent number is four five three. 102 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 1: You can still look it up and we'll actually have 103 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:40,360 Speaker 1: a link to it in the show notes, and he 104 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:43,599 Speaker 1: wrote in his patent application quote, the objects of my 105 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:46,960 Speaker 1: invention are to manufacture lamp black from oil in an 106 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:50,599 Speaker 1: improved and economical manner, whereby waste of the product and 107 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:55,000 Speaker 1: unnecessary expenditure of labor are avoided, And to manufacture carbon 108 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:57,600 Speaker 1: black from gas in such a manner as to obtain 109 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:00,560 Speaker 1: an improved quality of black, which will have the soft, 110 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:03,839 Speaker 1: flaky texture of lamp black and the superior color of 111 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:07,719 Speaker 1: carbon black made in the ordinary ways. We really cannot 112 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:10,919 Speaker 1: overstate how big carbon black was. Not only does it 113 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:12,880 Speaker 1: serve as a pigment, but it's also used as a 114 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:16,080 Speaker 1: strengthening filler and rubber, and it was a big part 115 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:20,239 Speaker 1: of solidifying Smith and Benny's success. In nineteen eleven alone, 116 00:06:20,279 --> 00:06:23,799 Speaker 1: B F. Goodrich ordered one million pounds of carbon black 117 00:06:23,839 --> 00:06:27,480 Speaker 1: for tire production. Eventually, carbon black would become a standard 118 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:30,839 Speaker 1: component of car tires. Yeah, you may or may not 119 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:32,479 Speaker 1: have noticed when you look at old pictures that a 120 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:35,520 Speaker 1: lot of times the tires on cars were white, uh, 121 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:37,760 Speaker 1: and then sometimes gray, And that was because those are 122 00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:40,920 Speaker 1: before carbon black became the standard. And as the turn 123 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:44,239 Speaker 1: of the century approached, the business partner cousins were looking 124 00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:48,679 Speaker 1: for new ways to expand their business even more would 125 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:51,080 Speaker 1: prove to be a really big year for them. They 126 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:53,880 Speaker 1: opened a new mill in eastern Pennsylvania and they began 127 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:57,360 Speaker 1: making slate school pencils there. This was actually a water 128 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:00,200 Speaker 1: mill where they were grinding this late down and one 129 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:02,560 Speaker 1: of the reasons for this move was a proximity to 130 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:05,240 Speaker 1: slate minds. It made it cheaper to produce these pencils 131 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:07,479 Speaker 1: as there was not as much overhead attached to the 132 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:11,160 Speaker 1: transportation of the slate. They were really close by. This 133 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:14,160 Speaker 1: move into the pencil market was a significant moment for 134 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:17,680 Speaker 1: them because it started their connection to classroom supply. That 135 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:20,280 Speaker 1: area of their business would be along lasting one. It 136 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:23,840 Speaker 1: goes right into today's schools and it was lucrative as well. 137 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:26,520 Speaker 1: And in addition to the new branch of the business, 138 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:31,200 Speaker 1: UHD also featured a trip to an event that we've 139 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:33,680 Speaker 1: referenced a few times in various episodes, which is the 140 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:37,200 Speaker 1: Paris Exposition. Uh and Benny and Smith went and the 141 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:40,800 Speaker 1: pair entered their company's black pigments into the industrial chemistry 142 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:43,720 Speaker 1: competition at the expo and they won a gold medal 143 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:47,480 Speaker 1: for them. In two Benny and Smith had another year 144 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:50,720 Speaker 1: of significant growth. The company started producing a product that 145 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:53,920 Speaker 1: still made today, the Stay on All crayon, which makes 146 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:56,880 Speaker 1: a permanent wax mark on most services and is used 147 00:07:56,880 --> 00:08:00,440 Speaker 1: primarily in industrial applications. It's a simple a nation of 148 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:04,440 Speaker 1: carbon black pigment along with paraffin. It replaced the company's 149 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:08,120 Speaker 1: previous product intended for industrial marking needs, which was called 150 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:11,320 Speaker 1: Eclipse Marking Inc. Yeah, that was like a liquid inc. 151 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:13,360 Speaker 1: And this just made it so much easier because people 152 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:15,160 Speaker 1: could hold it in their hands and it wouldn't fall 153 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:17,720 Speaker 1: apart and they could just be marking on packages or 154 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:21,840 Speaker 1: boxes or whatever. Production of dust less chalk also began 155 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:24,640 Speaker 1: that same year for use in classrooms, and this was 156 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:27,760 Speaker 1: created in response to teachers complaining about the steady layer 157 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 1: of dust chalk that was created in normal use and 158 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:36,200 Speaker 1: the crumbling nature of most available chalks, So and Do Septic, 159 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:40,160 Speaker 1: which was their trade name. Dustless chalk, was created through 160 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:43,680 Speaker 1: an extrusion process that added I've seen it listed in 161 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:46,760 Speaker 1: quotes weight. I don't know the actual chemistry involved to 162 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:49,040 Speaker 1: the particles of chalk, so it made them less likely 163 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:51,400 Speaker 1: to hover in the air, and they also just stuck 164 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:54,520 Speaker 1: together better. N two was also the year that the 165 00:08:54,559 --> 00:08:58,199 Speaker 1: company officially incorporated. At this point, it was not only 166 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:01,240 Speaker 1: producing its own pigment product, but also serving as an 167 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:05,960 Speaker 1: international distributor for other companies that produced carbon black. And 168 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:07,960 Speaker 1: we're about to get to a really pivotal year for 169 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:10,520 Speaker 1: Binny and Smith. But before that, let's pause and have 170 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:13,959 Speaker 1: a word from one of our fantastic sponsors. In nine 171 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:17,640 Speaker 1: oh three, Harold in particular, was still talking to teachers 172 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:20,760 Speaker 1: about the needs of the classroom. He often traveled to 173 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:23,400 Speaker 1: schools to try to sell pencils and chalk, and he 174 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:25,960 Speaker 1: made a point to listen to the teachers when they 175 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:28,520 Speaker 1: spoke about what sources of supplies they'd like to have 176 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:32,839 Speaker 1: in their classrooms. Through these discussions, Edwin and Harold realized 177 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:36,400 Speaker 1: that someone needed to create a wax crayon for students 178 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:39,280 Speaker 1: that would be affordable and safe. Now, I want to 179 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:41,360 Speaker 1: be really really clear here. It is not as if 180 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:43,960 Speaker 1: it was a black and white world with no access 181 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:47,520 Speaker 1: to colored art supplies before this. Uh. Pigment combined with 182 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:50,679 Speaker 1: bees wax and used for acoustic painting alone dates back 183 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:54,000 Speaker 1: literally thousands of years, and the word crayon has been 184 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:56,240 Speaker 1: in use all the way back to the sixteen hundreds 185 00:09:56,240 --> 00:09:59,400 Speaker 1: to describe a number of different pignant impregnated writing and 186 00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:03,000 Speaker 1: drawing elements. Pastel's had been around and used by artists 187 00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:06,000 Speaker 1: for centuries, and the conte crayon made the play and 188 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:09,520 Speaker 1: graphite was invented in the late seventeen hundreds. I looked 189 00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:13,959 Speaker 1: up crayon in the Oxford English Dictionary. Wow, you were 190 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:17,880 Speaker 1: working on this episode, and was delighted to find all 191 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:20,240 Speaker 1: the very old historical examples of the use of the 192 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:22,200 Speaker 1: word crayon in print, and some of them are like 193 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:28,200 Speaker 1: really snarky commentary on other people's drawing skills. I was 194 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:32,160 Speaker 1: super happy about that. Wax crayons made for children are 195 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:34,559 Speaker 1: on record in the later half of the nineteenth century, 196 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:38,360 Speaker 1: paralleling the kindergarten movement in the United States, there were 197 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:42,120 Speaker 1: multiple companies turning out products aimed at young artists. So 198 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:45,000 Speaker 1: at the time when Edwin Binny and Harold Smith were 199 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:48,200 Speaker 1: putting together their idea for a crayon, it was not 200 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:54,120 Speaker 1: exactly the eureka moment that some histories on Crayola might suggest. Yeah, 201 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:57,080 Speaker 1: they really do tend to get all the credit for 202 00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:01,320 Speaker 1: inventing crayons, And again they did make a really great product, 203 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:04,160 Speaker 1: but they were not the first people to think about 204 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:07,760 Speaker 1: doing something like this. But the Eastern Pennsylvania Smith and 205 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:11,200 Speaker 1: Benny plant was already making stay on all crayons using 206 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:14,000 Speaker 1: wax and carbon black, and that was an inexpensive product, 207 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:17,719 Speaker 1: both to produce and to sell. So the formula was 208 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:20,400 Speaker 1: tweaked a little bit to make colored crayons instead of 209 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:23,240 Speaker 1: the industrial black ones by mixing new pigments that were 210 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:26,520 Speaker 1: safer for children with liquid paraffin, and what's now a 211 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:30,320 Speaker 1: childhood classic was indeed born. There's also talk that was 212 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:33,400 Speaker 1: and still is in the mix for texture. What Benny 213 00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:37,080 Speaker 1: and Smith crayons had that others didn't was consistency of 214 00:11:37,120 --> 00:11:40,439 Speaker 1: product at a low cost. Crayons before Crayola weren't always 215 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:43,240 Speaker 1: effective at putting color on paper, which is the point 216 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:48,079 Speaker 1: of crayons. Some that were available also contained potentially dangerous cackles. 217 00:11:48,520 --> 00:11:51,440 Speaker 1: Even Benny and Smith stay on. All crayons which were aimed, 218 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:54,520 Speaker 1: as we mentioned at an industrial market, contained way too 219 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:56,920 Speaker 1: much carbon to be child safe. That's the fact that 220 00:11:56,960 --> 00:11:59,560 Speaker 1: it was meant to be a permanent mark on things. 221 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:03,440 Speaker 1: Not so great for children. The coloring crayons that produced 222 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:06,840 Speaker 1: vibrant shades were really marketed to artists and were priced 223 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:10,720 Speaker 1: a lot too high for elementary school use. To give 224 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:13,760 Speaker 1: the coloring implements their shape, the Benny and Smith paraffin 225 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:16,080 Speaker 1: mix that they created was poured into molds while it 226 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:20,040 Speaker 1: was still liquid. Then it was allowed to cool and solidify. Uh. 227 00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:22,959 Speaker 1: That process nowadays takes between four and seven and a 228 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:26,160 Speaker 1: half minutes uh if my recart reading was correct. And 229 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:28,920 Speaker 1: then that resulting crayon was popped out of the mold 230 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:32,280 Speaker 1: and was wrapped with paper by hand. At this point, 231 00:12:32,679 --> 00:12:35,480 Speaker 1: the name of this new product was named Crayola by 232 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:38,880 Speaker 1: Alice Benny was Edwin's wife and a former school teacher herself, 233 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:42,440 Speaker 1: portmanteau of the French word for chalk, which is crap 234 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:45,760 Speaker 1: and the beginning of the word oleaginous, which means oily 235 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:49,800 Speaker 1: or waxy. The first boxes of crayolas were sold both 236 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:52,520 Speaker 1: in schools and door to door, and the low price point, 237 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:54,199 Speaker 1: which was a nickel for a box of eight and 238 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:57,920 Speaker 1: a little bit more for larger assortments, really appealed to consumers. 239 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:01,240 Speaker 1: But the first big customer of Benny and Smith crayons 240 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:03,960 Speaker 1: was actually the US government. Creole as were bought in 241 00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:07,559 Speaker 1: bulk with federal funds and sent to Native American reservations. 242 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:10,640 Speaker 1: Another gold medal at a World Expo came to Benny 243 00:13:10,679 --> 00:13:13,600 Speaker 1: and Smith in nineteen o four and St. Louis. This 244 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:16,640 Speaker 1: time it was the dust less chalk that earned them honors. 245 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:19,800 Speaker 1: Over the next seventeen years, the company stayed in the 246 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:22,959 Speaker 1: creola business, but Benny and Smith continued to branch out 247 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:26,600 Speaker 1: into new products, including several pigment loaded lines that were 248 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:30,440 Speaker 1: targeted to find artists. They developed a paint line called Arista, 249 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:33,240 Speaker 1: the crayola Ruben's line, and a fine art crayon that 250 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:36,560 Speaker 1: could be sharpened called Perma Pressed also joined their catalog. 251 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:39,600 Speaker 1: The Great Depression was a rough time for the company, 252 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:41,920 Speaker 1: but not for the reasons that you might expect. In 253 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:45,520 Speaker 1: terms of finances, that survived, and it even ingratiated itself 254 00:13:45,559 --> 00:13:48,840 Speaker 1: to the community surrounding the Eastern plant by hiring out 255 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:51,680 Speaker 1: of work farmers to apply the paper wrappers to create 256 00:13:51,679 --> 00:13:55,719 Speaker 1: all a products. Yeah, that was like a great um 257 00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:58,640 Speaker 1: PR move for them, even though I don't get the 258 00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:00,880 Speaker 1: vibe that they were just doing it for PR. They 259 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:02,960 Speaker 1: really were trying to help the community and give people 260 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:06,080 Speaker 1: kind of a way to keep their families fed and 261 00:14:06,080 --> 00:14:09,280 Speaker 1: and keep their homes going when they were really struggling otherwise. 262 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:11,400 Speaker 1: But it ended up being one of those things that 263 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:13,920 Speaker 1: people in the community talked about for a long time, 264 00:14:13,960 --> 00:14:16,560 Speaker 1: and it always kind of put a halo on Binney 265 00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:21,440 Speaker 1: and Smith. But early on in the depression, Harold Smith 266 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:25,320 Speaker 1: died and his longtime business partner and friends survived him 267 00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:29,440 Speaker 1: for only three years. So Edwin Binney died in ninety four. 268 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:32,480 Speaker 1: And while the loss of both of the namesake founders 269 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:36,080 Speaker 1: of Binney and Smith was undoubtedly devastating, the company was 270 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:40,480 Speaker 1: so solid and they had really really carefully set it 271 00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:43,280 Speaker 1: up to just kind of be a well oiled machine 272 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:47,200 Speaker 1: that it not only survived, it actually thrived. While the 273 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:50,280 Speaker 1: roots of Binan Smith Incorporated and the Peak Scale Chemical 274 00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:53,720 Speaker 1: Works before it were always based in pigment. Another key 275 00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:57,800 Speaker 1: driver was always the education market. The company founded the 276 00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 1: Crayon Watercolor and Craft and WHOT along with other industry leaders, 277 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:04,680 Speaker 1: is a way to promote and ensure high safety standards 278 00:15:04,680 --> 00:15:10,000 Speaker 1: and creative materials. The Crayon Watercolor and Craft Institute still exists, 279 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:12,440 Speaker 1: although it has changed names twice since it began in 280 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:15,520 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty six. In the nineteen eighties it became the 281 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:18,920 Speaker 1: Art and Crafts Materials Institute, and then in two thousand 282 00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:22,160 Speaker 1: it changed to the Art and Creative Materials Institute, and 283 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:24,520 Speaker 1: for the last seven decades, this group that was once 284 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:28,480 Speaker 1: started by the Bennean Smith Company and other partners, has 285 00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:33,400 Speaker 1: certified non toxic art supply products through toxicity testing. The 286 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:37,120 Speaker 1: offerings of Benny and Smith's Crayola products grew so numerous 287 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:39,480 Speaker 1: that it became increasingly important to the company to have 288 00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:42,960 Speaker 1: a line of communication to educators about their art supply. 289 00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:47,320 Speaker 1: A teacher training program was instituted in night to offer 290 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:50,680 Speaker 1: teachers in school workshops to showcase the many uses and 291 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:54,320 Speaker 1: techniques for the various items in the company's collections. Was 292 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:57,080 Speaker 1: a brilliant way to sell the education market on Benny 293 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:00,200 Speaker 1: and Smith's supplies. Yeah, it's one of those things. When 294 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:03,000 Speaker 1: you look at even boxes now, they usually have some 295 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:06,720 Speaker 1: tout on them that say, like the most recommended by teachers. 296 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:09,200 Speaker 1: But I think a lot of that really just has 297 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:11,760 Speaker 1: to do with the fact that they have from almost 298 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:15,520 Speaker 1: day one just kind of ingrained themselves in the mindset 299 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:18,440 Speaker 1: of educators and like always kind of been there as 300 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:22,960 Speaker 1: a resource and and really fostered this relationship. And as 301 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,600 Speaker 1: crayole as became a standard part of childhood creativity, larger 302 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:29,760 Speaker 1: and larger boxes of crayons were offered. The forty eight 303 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:32,200 Speaker 1: count box hit the market in nineteen forty nine, and 304 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:35,160 Speaker 1: nine years later the sixty four count box was introduced. 305 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:38,160 Speaker 1: And I remember as a kid being so enthralled with 306 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:41,120 Speaker 1: that sharpener that was built into the sixty four count box. 307 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:44,800 Speaker 1: I was so excited for sharp crayons all the time. Uh. 308 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:47,880 Speaker 1: And in one of the first of those sixty four 309 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:50,280 Speaker 1: count boxes with the sharpener was given to the National 310 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:54,760 Speaker 1: Museum of American History. The nineteen fifties and sixties had 311 00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:57,960 Speaker 1: many more growth mile stands for Benny and Smith. In 312 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:00,360 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty two, a new plant was a bend in 313 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:03,320 Speaker 1: Kansas to keep up with demand. It became a publicly 314 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:06,120 Speaker 1: held company in nineteen sixty one and joined the American 315 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:09,000 Speaker 1: Stock Exchange two years later. That shifted over to the 316 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:13,000 Speaker 1: New York Stock Exchange in nineteen seventy eight, almost one 317 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:16,080 Speaker 1: hundred years after Joseph Binny had moved his operation to 318 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:19,040 Speaker 1: New York City. The corporate offices for Smith and Benny 319 00:17:19,080 --> 00:17:22,400 Speaker 1: were moved to Forks Township in eastern Pennsylvania in nineteen 320 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:26,280 Speaker 1: seventy six. In nineteen eighty four, the company was purchased 321 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:29,760 Speaker 1: and became a subsidiary of Hallmark, and in two thousand seven, 322 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:33,080 Speaker 1: Minny and Smith changed names to Crayola LLC. This is 323 00:17:33,119 --> 00:17:36,040 Speaker 1: a pretty natural transition because the company had unified all 324 00:17:36,040 --> 00:17:39,000 Speaker 1: of its children's products under the Crayola label in nineteen 325 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:43,280 Speaker 1: seventy nine. The one hundred billion Crayola crayon was produced 326 00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:47,320 Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety six. Two years after that in Crayola 327 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:50,359 Speaker 1: crayons were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. 328 00:17:50,960 --> 00:17:53,520 Speaker 1: In two thousand eleven, Edwin Benny was added to the 329 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:57,159 Speaker 1: National Inventors Hall of Fame, not for his crayons, but 330 00:17:57,359 --> 00:18:00,280 Speaker 1: for his work with carbon black and we are going 331 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:03,280 Speaker 1: to talk just a little bit about Crayola colors and 332 00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:06,400 Speaker 1: modern Crayon production. But before we do that, let's pause 333 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:08,760 Speaker 1: for a quick word from another one of our great sponsors. 334 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:11,919 Speaker 1: So we've talked about how I have found it nearly 335 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:15,520 Speaker 1: effortless to make a wedding website on Squarespace. I am 336 00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:18,800 Speaker 1: actually progressing to the next step of that, which is 337 00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:22,959 Speaker 1: discovering that there is limited room on the pretty wedding 338 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:29,119 Speaker 1: stationary to put things like directions to the venue, and 339 00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:32,480 Speaker 1: so instead I am gonna be building that out some more. 340 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:35,639 Speaker 1: It is so easy, It takes so little time. It 341 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:39,000 Speaker 1: is super intuitive to make the thing look exactly what 342 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:42,480 Speaker 1: I want, so many options to choose from, so many 343 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:45,760 Speaker 1: really lovely designs to do exactly what you want them 344 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:47,919 Speaker 1: to do. Uh, and then lots of different ways to 345 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:50,400 Speaker 1: just make it look cool and personalized, even though you're 346 00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:53,440 Speaker 1: working with a company that's setting it up for you 347 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:56,280 Speaker 1: in an easy to use interface. So you get a 348 00:18:56,320 --> 00:18:59,320 Speaker 1: website that looks professionally designed regardless of your skill level, 349 00:18:59,359 --> 00:19:03,000 Speaker 1: with no be required. Intuitive they're easy to use tools. 350 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:05,000 Speaker 1: You can get a free domain if you sign up 351 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:07,320 Speaker 1: for a year, which I did. That was awesome and 352 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:10,560 Speaker 1: You can start your free trial today at squarespace dot com. 353 00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:12,880 Speaker 1: When you decide to sign up for Squarespace, make sure 354 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:16,119 Speaker 1: to use the offer code history to get ten percent 355 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:20,639 Speaker 1: off your first purchase. While you'll see various numbers bandied 356 00:19:20,640 --> 00:19:23,199 Speaker 1: about when people mentioned how many different colors of Crayola 357 00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:26,639 Speaker 1: crayons have been manufactured throughout the years, what that number 358 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:30,760 Speaker 1: really reflects is color names. There have been many instances 359 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:33,720 Speaker 1: where the same exact color has changed names or even 360 00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:36,480 Speaker 1: been produced with two or more different names, depending on 361 00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:39,960 Speaker 1: the assortment that it's packaged with. According to crayon collector 362 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:43,600 Speaker 1: and historian Ed welter By, the company had produced three 363 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:47,560 Speaker 1: one unique colors, but had issued crayons under seven hundred 364 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:51,240 Speaker 1: and fifty nine names. Yeah, that's a lot of name changes. 365 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:53,560 Speaker 1: So when you see any like articles that are like 366 00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:56,600 Speaker 1: they've made more than six hundred colors, it's like, that's 367 00:19:56,640 --> 00:20:01,800 Speaker 1: not entirely correct. Uhions Smith actually retired eight of the 368 00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:06,080 Speaker 1: Crayola colors, but two consumer groups formed to protest the move. 369 00:20:06,359 --> 00:20:09,240 Speaker 1: One was called the RUMPS or the Raw Number and 370 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:13,240 Speaker 1: Maze Preservation Society, and the other was called Crayons UH 371 00:20:13,359 --> 00:20:16,359 Speaker 1: the Committee to re Establish All Your old norms. So 372 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:18,119 Speaker 1: clearly they were a little bit in fun, but they 373 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:20,920 Speaker 1: really were sad to see these colors go. And their 374 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:23,919 Speaker 1: chagrin at these retired colors did not go unheard by 375 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:28,040 Speaker 1: Crayola's makers, who were astute in terms of business, and 376 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:32,560 Speaker 1: they produced a special retro collection featuring the retired colors 377 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:36,760 Speaker 1: in a collectible tin for the holiday season. So they 378 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:39,080 Speaker 1: were retired. They came back the same year, but then 379 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:41,600 Speaker 1: they were officially retired. An you want to see what 380 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:44,159 Speaker 1: I just pulled out of the crayon dra Yes, it 381 00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:52,639 Speaker 1: is the retired Boxola retired. These eight colors of the 382 00:20:52,680 --> 00:20:58,840 Speaker 1: Crayola Crayon Hall of Fame ranges yellow, raw, umber, green, blue, maize, blue, gray, orange, red, 383 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:04,119 Speaker 1: violet blue, and lemon yellow. I love it. I also 384 00:21:04,119 --> 00:21:08,080 Speaker 1: have the tin fascinated. Another reason that some colors have 385 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:10,959 Speaker 1: been renamed over the years, that's some of the bonikers 386 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:14,680 Speaker 1: were attached to outdated cultural contexts. For example, the color 387 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:18,560 Speaker 1: once called Indian red eventually became chestnut. Crayola, though has 388 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:22,040 Speaker 1: stated that this name was referencing the country of India, 389 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:25,679 Speaker 1: but it still changed. The name. Flesh is now peach 390 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:30,160 Speaker 1: because not everyone's flesh just that color really no one's flesh, 391 00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:34,040 Speaker 1: just that color. Uh, And Prussian blue became Midnight blue 392 00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:36,399 Speaker 1: because Bennie and Smith realized that children did not know 393 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:40,240 Speaker 1: what Prussia was. Yeah, so some of them have maybe 394 00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:43,840 Speaker 1: been cultural sensitivity, but others have just been that, you know, 395 00:21:43,880 --> 00:21:47,560 Speaker 1: the cultural touchstones have changed enough that people don't always 396 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:52,800 Speaker 1: recognize the the point of naming things for Prussia and 397 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:56,159 Speaker 1: other places. They've also had various like contests over the 398 00:21:56,240 --> 00:21:58,960 Speaker 1: years where people got to name colors, and the color 399 00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:02,520 Speaker 1: story of cre Eola could be like seventeen episodes on 400 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:05,240 Speaker 1: its own, which is why I didn't get super deep 401 00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:07,479 Speaker 1: into it. We could get in the weeds really really quickly. 402 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:11,720 Speaker 1: Today Creola production involves a lot more automation and industrial 403 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:14,960 Speaker 1: machinery than it did in nineteen o three. An average 404 00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:18,240 Speaker 1: day at the factory requires about seventeen thousand gallons of 405 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:21,360 Speaker 1: paraffin wax, and the molds are filled via tube system 406 00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:24,080 Speaker 1: and the wrappers are now applied by a machine instead 407 00:22:24,119 --> 00:22:27,200 Speaker 1: of by hand, but the process itself is still pretty 408 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:31,120 Speaker 1: much the same. Several billion crayons are made by Creola 409 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:33,760 Speaker 1: each year. They're sold in more than eighty countries, with 410 00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:39,080 Speaker 1: packaging and twelve languages, and Creola has significantly diversified their 411 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:42,120 Speaker 1: product line, both through development of new products and through 412 00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:45,399 Speaker 1: acquisitions over the years. For example, Silly Putty and Liquid 413 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:48,560 Speaker 1: Text have been in a Bidian Smith Creola family, although 414 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:51,920 Speaker 1: liquid Tex I believe was sold off Magic markers required 415 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:56,600 Speaker 1: by Creola. That like, there's so many standard kind of 416 00:22:56,880 --> 00:23:00,960 Speaker 1: uh elementary school art supplies and even and art supplies 417 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:03,520 Speaker 1: aimed at an older market that you know and love, 418 00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:05,840 Speaker 1: that have all been up under the umbrella of Bidian 419 00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:09,480 Speaker 1: Smith at some point. I have some Creola colored pencils 420 00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:14,000 Speaker 1: in the drawer too. Yep. The company has made washable crayons, 421 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:17,120 Speaker 1: washable markers, colored pencils which I just said, a modeling 422 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:21,200 Speaker 1: compound called Model Magic, and another favorite glitter crayons under 423 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:25,280 Speaker 1: the collection name glitter Roddy. I'm gonna tell you also 424 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:29,600 Speaker 1: in the crayon drawer Crayola Silver Swirls, which are an 425 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:33,640 Speaker 1: older version of the Glittery crayons. Of people are gonna 426 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:35,920 Speaker 1: know way too much about my crayon drawer situation now. 427 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:40,639 Speaker 1: They've also been loads of other products, I mean, just 428 00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:43,880 Speaker 1: so many, way too many to mention everyone individually, and 429 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:47,760 Speaker 1: there have also been licensed closed software, toys, even house paint. 430 00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:50,760 Speaker 1: There is a Crayola Christmas ornament that hangs on our 431 00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:53,119 Speaker 1: Christmas tree every year. It is like, I think a 432 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:55,680 Speaker 1: mouse driving a car, but the car is made out 433 00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:58,680 Speaker 1: of a box of Crayola crayons. I have to say, 434 00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:01,040 Speaker 1: I feel almost guilty that I did this one because 435 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:04,240 Speaker 1: I had no idea you had this depth of Crayola love. Well, 436 00:24:04,359 --> 00:24:06,919 Speaker 1: to be candid, it would not have occurred to me 437 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:14,840 Speaker 1: to do it, So I'm glad that you did. It's 438 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:17,560 Speaker 1: actually been on my list for a long time. And 439 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:19,760 Speaker 1: then I got to talking about the possible ability of 440 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:22,680 Speaker 1: doing it with a friend recently, and then I was like, oh, 441 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:24,880 Speaker 1: we've had so much like kind of you know, rough 442 00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:27,520 Speaker 1: stuff that I'm going to do a very light and 443 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:32,119 Speaker 1: fun a story went. I think our number of sad 444 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:36,800 Speaker 1: episodes has not been all that atypical lately, but the 445 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:41,880 Speaker 1: gravity of the sad episodes has been particularly plus we've 446 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:44,160 Speaker 1: been in winter, which is a little you know, dul 447 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:49,480 Speaker 1: dromy and uh. Even though so far in Georgia the 448 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:51,720 Speaker 1: winter has been fairly mild, I don't know if it 449 00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:53,880 Speaker 1: will stay that way or not. It's still just been 450 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:57,120 Speaker 1: kind of you know overcasting the so I thought something 451 00:24:57,119 --> 00:24:59,879 Speaker 1: colorful would be delightful for the dinner. We've had some 452 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:02,240 Speaker 1: snow in Boston lately, but knock on wood, so far, 453 00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:06,679 Speaker 1: not enough to really hamper a lot besides canceling school 454 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:09,720 Speaker 1: and stuff. Do you have listener mail? I do have 455 00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:11,800 Speaker 1: listener man Heil. This one is related to our very 456 00:25:11,840 --> 00:25:16,400 Speaker 1: recent podcast on the Piata, and it comes from our listener, Alexandra. 457 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:19,040 Speaker 1: She says, Dear Holly and Tracy, I am an American 458 00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:22,080 Speaker 1: artist living in Florence, Italy for about two and a 459 00:25:22,119 --> 00:25:24,040 Speaker 1: half years, and I've been listening to you guys for 460 00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:26,679 Speaker 1: just about that long. Your voices have been a constant 461 00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:28,800 Speaker 1: in my studio while I'm painting and are an endless 462 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:31,440 Speaker 1: source of inspiration keep my mind busy while my hands 463 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:33,359 Speaker 1: are on autopilot. I will start off by giving you 464 00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:35,320 Speaker 1: a huge thank you for all your great work. Thank you. 465 00:25:35,359 --> 00:25:37,280 Speaker 1: That's so sweet to say. I'm honored that an artist 466 00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:40,040 Speaker 1: would listen to us while creating things. She says, I 467 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:42,679 Speaker 1: always get super excited when you guys have topics about Europe, 468 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:46,040 Speaker 1: royal dynasties and of course anything Italian. However, when you 469 00:25:46,119 --> 00:25:48,440 Speaker 1: guys have subjects relating to art, I just about lose 470 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:52,000 Speaker 1: my mind. This past episode about Lapieta just about tipped 471 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:54,080 Speaker 1: me over the edge. As Michelangelo is one of my 472 00:25:54,119 --> 00:25:56,920 Speaker 1: city's heroes. He may not be my favorite artist, but 473 00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:01,040 Speaker 1: his prolific body of work is astounding, his temperament, legendary, 474 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:04,240 Speaker 1: and ideas at that time progressive. I personally find his 475 00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:08,439 Speaker 1: personal academic pursuit of human anatomy criminally exciting, as he 476 00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:10,640 Speaker 1: was known to have broken into morgues in the dead 477 00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:13,679 Speaker 1: of night to dissect corpses to understand how our muscles 478 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:16,720 Speaker 1: and bones fit together. I studied anatomy as well when 479 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:19,560 Speaker 1: I was in undergrad So michel angelo Is apparent understanding 480 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:21,960 Speaker 1: of the body's mechanics mixed with the artist's i for 481 00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:25,120 Speaker 1: proportion and scale is an endless point of fascination when 482 00:26:25,119 --> 00:26:28,280 Speaker 1: I visit his works. Michel Angelo's version of the Pieta 483 00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:31,840 Speaker 1: and the Vatican maybe one of his more globally admired pieces. However, 484 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:36,080 Speaker 1: due to personal opinion and probable geographical bias, his version 485 00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:38,080 Speaker 1: in Florence at the end of his very long life 486 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:41,360 Speaker 1: and career is my favorite. Many people seem to dismiss 487 00:26:41,359 --> 00:26:43,440 Speaker 1: it as unfinished, but I see it as a raw 488 00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:48,360 Speaker 1: interpretation of his artistic vision, unhindered by pursuit of religious interpretation, 489 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:52,520 Speaker 1: without pressure from politics and patronage. Unlike La Pieta in Rome, 490 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:55,560 Speaker 1: the sculpture in Florence, uh the marble medium is not 491 00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:58,720 Speaker 1: hidden behind Polish realism and can be interpreted as the 492 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:01,760 Speaker 1: earthen material that keep man chained to the ground and 493 00:27:01,800 --> 00:27:04,359 Speaker 1: the bodies that he erected from the stone as humans 494 00:27:04,359 --> 00:27:07,480 Speaker 1: instinctual want to reach beauty and purity. I find this 495 00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:11,480 Speaker 1: explanation in tune with Nicelangelo's humanistic beliefs and societal reference 496 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:14,240 Speaker 1: as a Renaissance witness to a world recovering from years 497 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:17,480 Speaker 1: in the Middle Ages. Other similar references to the artists 498 00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:20,440 Speaker 1: unfinished work of figures fighting their way off beautiful cuts 499 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:23,760 Speaker 1: of marble can be seen at Galeria del Academia in Florence. 500 00:27:24,119 --> 00:27:26,879 Speaker 1: As to the mysterious figure that rises in the posterior 501 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:29,320 Speaker 1: of the sculpture, I always related it to a sort 502 00:27:29,359 --> 00:27:33,119 Speaker 1: of embrace and acceptance of death, illuming yet not entirely 503 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:35,920 Speaker 1: unwelcome figure that is comparable to a few artists works 504 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:38,959 Speaker 1: such as Goya's Black paintings, A bleaker example that are 505 00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:41,960 Speaker 1: lucky enough to have lived long enough to visually contemplate 506 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:44,439 Speaker 1: their impending in It's a bit morbid, but at the 507 00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:48,640 Speaker 1: same time a very peaceful way to accept an inevitable truth. Anyways, 508 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:50,280 Speaker 1: on a lighter note, I have a quick story about 509 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:52,760 Speaker 1: when my lovely Italian partner saw La Pieta in Rome 510 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:55,320 Speaker 1: as a child. Can you imagine growing up around all 511 00:27:55,320 --> 00:27:58,080 Speaker 1: that history. After his little feet had been dragged all 512 00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:00,440 Speaker 1: over Rome finishing at the Vatican, he has taken to 513 00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:02,760 Speaker 1: the foot of michel Angelo's work, and, much to his 514 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:05,960 Speaker 1: mother's chagrin, in the amusement of surrounding tourists, yelled, you 515 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:07,480 Speaker 1: took me all the way here to make me see 516 00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:11,200 Speaker 1: this piece of rock. Uh. I love that story. It's 517 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:15,119 Speaker 1: so lovely. Alexandra and she Um also sent us a 518 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:17,719 Speaker 1: link to a series of paintings that she did inspired 519 00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:21,479 Speaker 1: by the Empress City episode that was before Tracy and 520 00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:24,800 Speaker 1: I were doing episodes, and it is absolutely lovely, beautiful work. 521 00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:27,439 Speaker 1: Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. I like 522 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:30,000 Speaker 1: getting an artist's perspective on the art that we talk about, 523 00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:32,840 Speaker 1: because while I love art, I'm not creating art at 524 00:28:32,840 --> 00:28:35,919 Speaker 1: that level all the time. You know, I'm stitching, but 525 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:38,240 Speaker 1: it's not the same thing. So I really really appreciate 526 00:28:38,280 --> 00:28:40,840 Speaker 1: you sharing that with us, Alexandra Uh. If you would 527 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:42,360 Speaker 1: like to write us, you can do so a history 528 00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:44,920 Speaker 1: podcast at house to works dot com. We're also at 529 00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:47,680 Speaker 1: Facebook dot com, slash mist in history, on Twitter at 530 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:50,920 Speaker 1: mist in History, at pinterest dot com, slash mist in 531 00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:53,600 Speaker 1: History at mist in history dot tumbler dot com, and 532 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:56,760 Speaker 1: we're on Instagram at mist in History. If you would 533 00:28:56,760 --> 00:29:00,000 Speaker 1: like to research look more deeply into what we talked 534 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:01,640 Speaker 1: talked about today, you can go to our parents site, 535 00:29:01,640 --> 00:29:04,240 Speaker 1: how Stuff Works. Type in the word crayola or the 536 00:29:04,280 --> 00:29:06,400 Speaker 1: word crayon in the search bar, and you're gonna have 537 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:09,680 Speaker 1: so much the so much to entertain you throughout your day, 538 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:13,200 Speaker 1: including there's a really cool video in there about modern 539 00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:17,360 Speaker 1: crayon productions. You can actually see how the the Crayola 540 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:20,240 Speaker 1: plants chareing out crayons now. And if you want to 541 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:22,200 Speaker 1: visit us online, you can do so at missed in 542 00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:25,440 Speaker 1: history dot com and we have all of the episodes 543 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:27,920 Speaker 1: archived all the way back to the very beginning, way 544 00:29:27,960 --> 00:29:30,800 Speaker 1: before me and Tracy were here, and you can get 545 00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:32,840 Speaker 1: show notes from any of the episodes Tracy and I 546 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:35,360 Speaker 1: have worked on, as well as occasional other goodies. So 547 00:29:35,440 --> 00:29:37,600 Speaker 1: visit us at how stop works dot com and missed 548 00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:44,680 Speaker 1: in History dot com For more on this and thousands 549 00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:59,400 Speaker 1: of other topics hot works dot com.