Voting For New Crayola Color Now Open: Here Are The Names To Choose From

Crayola introduced its newest color and asked for the public's help in giving it a name. The top names have been announced, the voting has begun, and reactions to the new names are pouring in.

New Crayon Names

Last March, Crayola announced that along with the retirement of the yellow shade of crayon the company endearingly called Dandelion is the addition of an unnamed new shade of blue. Naturally, some people were disappointed with the announcement, especially among those who loved having the popular shade in their crayon boxes.

Still, it's difficult not to get excited when the company gave its consumers a chance to name the new shade of blue. Just before the voting period began, Crayola unveiled the top five fan-submitted names to choose from: Dreams Come Blue, Bluetiful, Star Spangled Blue, Reach For The Stars, and Blue Moon Bliss.

Not Everyone Is Impressed

Though the names are quite unique with just the right amount of play on words, some people were unimpressed. Some questioned as to why the crayon wasn't just named after the person who discovered the shade, while others suggested using YInMn which is what the blue pigment is called after the elements from which it was derived.

Others, however, just enjoyed making up their own names for the new crayon. Comical names such as COVFEFE and, naturally, Bluey McBlueface were suggested after the company's Twitter announcement.

Voting Begins

Now that the top submitted names have been chosen, Crayola is holding a contest wherein people can vote for which out of the five names should be used for the new shade. The grand prize for the competition is a trip for four people to the Crayola Experience in Orlando, Florida, and other prizes such as a $1,000 donation to a school arts program of the winner's choosing.

Voting began on the first of July and will last until Aug. 31, 2017.

Accidental Discovery

As aforementioned, the pigment from which the crayon's shade is based from was an accidental discovery by materials science professor Mas Subramanian and grad student Andrew Smith from the University of Oregon.

After mixing chemicals together and heating them up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, Smith found that the mixture of yttrium, indium, and manganese oxides (YInMn) has turned a bright shade of blue. The new discovery became the first blue pigment discovery in over 200 years.

Even better, the new shade of blue isn't just a pretty sight, it's also easy to produce and does not fade even in water or oil.

It is because of the pigment's freshness and uniqueness that Crayola was inspired to base its replacement crayon on YInMn.