> Besides color pigment, what's the other main ingredient used to make crayons?And the answer: paraffin wax. Photo credit: Brain Woodcock via Country Living[https://www.countryliving.com/shopping/antiques/g5145/crayola-crayons-history/].According to Crayola[https://www.crayola.com/faq/your-business/how-are-crayons-manufactured-and-what-are-the-basic-ingredients/], the paraffin wax is melted and mixed together with color pigments. "The hotwax mixture is poured into molding machines. In about four to seven minutes, thecrayons cool and become solid." Crayola makes 14 million crayons everyday, andaround 3 billion each year.Crayola crayons were invented in 1903 by cousins Edwin Binney and C. HaroldSmith, founders of the Binney & Smith Co. of Easton, Pennsylvania. By mixing theparaffin wax with nontoxic pigments, the co-founders were able to create a safeand easy drawing utensil for young children. In fact, the first box designpromotes its use for "young artists".The name "Crayola" was invented by the wife of the company's founder. The wordderives from the French word "craie," meaning chalk, and "oleaginous," or"oily." In other words, what better way to describe crayons than "oily chalk?"Before their use as art supplies for children, crayons were primarily used inindustrial settings. Creators Binney and Smith themselves used charcoal and lampblack crayons in their factory until the pair began to experiment with othercolors. When the pair took over the business from Edwin Binney's father, theybegan to experiment in color. Binney and Smith and created a red pigment forbarn paints and a carbon black that made rubber tires stronger, while thenmoving on to make pencils and dustless chalk for school blackboards. Of course,their natural next step would be to combine each element to create somethingbrand new. Thus, the crayon was born. The pair capitalized on schools' need for a safecoloring agent, and created the first crayons. Coming in an astounding eightcolors and costing just a nickel, the first batches of crayon represented aturning point in the world of children's art. Today, the Crayola name carriesover 400 colors, and comes in many shapes and sizes. Watch the crayon-making process in the video below.