# Crayola 64 Pack w/Sharpener **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 24, 2003, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crayola-64-pack-w-sharpener/203448 "2003-09-24T01:38:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bingo\_Plebney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/43a26b/32.png) [@Bingo\_Plebney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bingo_Plebney)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crayola-64-pack-w-sharpener/203448/1 "2003-09-24T01:38:17Z")
Prior to 1980, what was the Ultimate Glory Box of crayons? I think it was the box of 64, but the “people” over my shoulder are forwarding the theory that it was a box of 128. I don’t think it existed at the time Help, help! Bingo ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crayola-64-pack-w-sharpener/203448/2 "2003-09-24T01:59:58Z")
Crayola made no more than 64 colors up to 1972, then 72 colors up to 1989. But 64 was the Mutha of all Collections, as the additional 8 were special flourescent packs. Heh, sooo 1980’s. [http://www.crayola.com/colorcensus/history/chronology.cfm](http://www.crayola.com/colorcensus/history/chronology.cfm) ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crayola-64-pack-w-sharpener/203448/3 "2003-09-24T01:59:58Z")
You have come to the right place grasshopper, I am a collector of Crayola brand crayons and can answer your questions. The Crayola 64 pack with the built in sharpener was introduced in 1958. It wasn’t till after the Great Crayola new color scandal of 1990 that Crayola combined a couple of specialty color packs with the 64 pack and the 96 pack was released. Just this year Crayola released it’s largest ever collection, a commemoritive 100 crayon pack. Crayola is retiring 4 colors and introducing 4 new colors. After the 4 new colors are introduced, Crayola will again have a total of 96 crayon colors. Counting the 15 that will be retired then, Crayola has produced a total of 111 colors. This applies to the standard 5/16 inch crayon. Crayola has never sold a package with 128 crayons. A little Crayola crayon trivia. In 1969 the president of Crayola crayons received a letter from a 12 year old girl. The girl had just read a story about Martin Luther King and later while coloring, noticed that one of her crayons was wrong. The color was flesh. Her complaint was that the crayon was not the color of flesh, people such as Mr. King did not have that color of flesh. The president of the company concurred and though the crayon is the same color, it is been known as peach since. ---
**Author:** ![Bingo\_Plebney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/43a26b/32.png) [@Bingo\_Plebney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bingo_Plebney)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crayola-64-pack-w-sharpener/203448/4 "2003-09-24T02:06:58Z")
Interesting piece o trivia, that was. Also, unless I’m mistaken (not unlikely, and I’m too lazy to check it right now) , Crayola’s site lists the release date of the 64 pack as 1959. A good year, if true, for both crayons, and Bingos. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crayola-64-pack-w-sharpener/203448/5 "2003-09-24T02:07:01Z")
Whoops, looked at old notes. I forgot about the 24 new colors of 1998. And I have 2 complete 120 crayon sets. Shame on me. ---
**Author:** ![Bingo\_Plebney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/43a26b/32.png) [@Bingo\_Plebney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bingo_Plebney)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crayola-64-pack-w-sharpener/203448/6 "2003-09-24T02:13:15Z")
When I was a very young school person, we had “Art Boxes”. Glorified shoeboxes which held our supplies, ie; scissors, paste, crayons. I kept mine on the radiator. Once. 🙂 B ---
**Author:** ![danvanf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@danvanf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danvanf)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crayola-64-pack-w-sharpener/203448/7 "2003-09-24T02:15:50Z")
In the Mid 70’s I pined for a box of 64, don’t remember 128 being there. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crayola-64-pack-w-sharpener/203448/8 "2003-09-24T02:48:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by racer72 \* > \*\*A little Crayola crayon trivia. In 1969 the president of Crayola crayons received a letter from a 12 year old girl. The girl had just read a story about Martin Luther King and later while coloring, noticed that one of her crayons was wrong. The color was flesh. Her complaint was that the crayon was not the color of flesh, people such as Mr. King did not have that color of flesh. The president of the company concurred and though the crayon is the same color, it is been known as peach since. \*\* According to the page **Philster** linked above at Crayola, the name change from Flesh to Peach occurred in 1962, “partially as a result of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement.” The only other name changes they highlight were: Prussian Blue to Midnight Blue in 1958 (“in response to teachers’ requests”); and Indian Red to Chestnut in 1999 (“in response to educators who felt some children wrongly perceived the crayon color was intended to represent the skin color of Native Americans. The name originated from a reddish-brown pigment found near India commonly used in fine artist oil paint.”) ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crayola-64-pack-w-sharpener/203448/9 "2003-09-24T02:50:19Z")
Whoops - there was one more at the very bottom. In 2000 Torch Red (which had only been introduced in 1998) was renamed Scarlet. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crayola-64-pack-w-sharpener/203448/10 "2003-09-24T02:51:39Z")
Pardon the hijack, but **racer** , since you seem to be pretty knowledgeable in this area perhaps you can tell me something about a set of Guitar brand crayons I found along with my late uncle’s stuff. The color is much richer than anything Crayola has ever done.