Making Memories--"Crayola Polar Palette Art Center" and "Play-Doh Sculpting Center": North Pole Series

How Big are the Memories?
Guess!  I dare you!  Just guess!

Dept 56, "Leonardo and Vincent"
56.56801

How many Crayons are sold each year?  Think big.....really big.....

Answer:  3 billion are sold annually worldwide.  I can't even fathom how many Crayons that is.  Want to see a bigger number?  In 1996 Fred Rogers, of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, made the 100 billionth Crayola Crayon to be manufactured.  I can't image anything that big. (Well, our national debt, but this is NOT a political blog!)  1,000,000,000,000  That's how many Crayons were made between 1903 and 1996.

Dept 56, "More Play-Doh, Please!"
56.56822

More numbers!  How many tons of Play-Doh have been sold since it went on the market?  Hint:  It is less than a "google," and a "google" is a mathematical term for a 1 followed by 100 zeroes. 

Answer:  700 million tons of Play-Doh have been sold since it went on the market!  700 million tons = 1.4 billion pounds.  Now, assume a Toyota Corolla weighs 3000 pounds.  1.4 billion pounds divided by 3000 pounds = 466 million Corollas! Play-Doh equal in weight to 466 million Corollas has been sold since its introduction.

"God gave us memories that we might have roses in December."(J.M. Barrie, Courage, 1922
When I think of Crayons, I remember the orange and green boxes, the rainbow of colors inside, and the color-matched labels.  And for Play-Doh, I remember the little round yellow cans with pop-off red, blue and yellow lids, and the soft and pliant dough inside.

But what is most evocative is the SMELL of Crayons and Play-Doh.  When I am around children playing, and I smell Crayons or Play-Doh, I experience an almost visceral flood of memories.  And this doesn't just happen to me.  Yale University reports that Crayola Crayons provide one of the most recognizable scents for adults, ranking 18 among scents!  (After coffee and before bleach.)

Eau de Play-Doh

And in 2006 Hasbro, owner of Play-Doh, announced it was celebrating its 50th anniversary by releasing "Eau de Play-Doh," a perfume designed to smell like the modeling clay.  Hasbro's spokesman justified the produce by saying that the perfume would transport women back to the childhood.

 I don't plan on wearing Eau de Play-Doh, but I do so love being transported back to my childhood, and Department 56 North Pole buildings take me there.

Crayola Polar Palette Art Center

Dept 56, North Pole Series, 
"Crayola Polar Palette Art Center"56.56726

This North Pole building is a testament to the exuberance of North Pole design.  The building is awash with Crayons:  Red and blue Crayon turrets flank the the second story;  Crayons support the front porch and side window headers; Crayon banisters garnish the staircase; Crayons act as door handles; and Crayon posts support the fence.  The whole building flares and slopes and curves, held together by soldiers of Crayons.

A Little History of Crayola Crayons
Crayons were developed by the Peekskill Chemical Company in New York state.  Founded in 1864, the company originally produced barn paints ad black automobile tires. In 1885 partners Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith started creating more color products, like shoe polish, printing inks, and slate pencils.  They recognized the need to create non-toxic coloring toys for children, and in 1903 introduced Crayola Crayons.  The word 'Crayola' was adopted by Binney's wife Alice, combing the French words for chalk (craie) and oily (oleafinous.)  The first boxes sold for a nickel and included black, brown, red, blue, purple, orange, yellow, and green Crayons. If you would like to see what Crayola Crayons is producing as toys now, you may wish to click  on this link:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=crayola+crayons&x=17&y=20

Play-Doh Sculpting Studio

Dept 56, North Pole Series, "Play-Doh Sculpting Studio"
56.56746

The North Pole Play-Doh Sculpting Studio is extraordinarily whimsical.  It is topped by a turret in the shape of a play-Doh can, and three red banners wave from the roof.  On the right is a representation of a gear belt turning a machine that squeezes out strings of red, yellow, blue and purple Play-Doh.  Oh, how I remember the hours my own kids spent making "The Longest Play-Doh String in the World."  We have pictures of them standing on our porch next to that multi-colored string that stretched from one end of the porch to the next.  It was summer, we had just moved into that house, it was hot, the grass was slightly yellow...and that is the power of Play-Doh memories.

Short History of Play-Doh
More big numbers...since its invention in 1956, over 2 billion cans of Play-Doh have been sold in 75 countries!  In 1965 a patent for the formula was grated to Noah and Joseph McVicker, owners of Kutol Chemicals, for a "Plastic modeling composition," which was originally created as a wallpaper cleaner.  The company began to supply Cincinnati schools with their white non-toxic material, because they had heard that modeling clay was too difficult for smaller children to manipulate.  The response was so positive that the company began to market the dough as "Rainbow Crafts."

Some changes have been made over time.  the Play-Doh elf mascot gave way to a kid named Play-Doh Pete; a variety of colors were added; the formula became softer and more pliable; and the original yellow cardboard can was replaced with a plastic one.  And the popularity of the toy persevered.  If you would like to see what Play-Doh toys there are now, check out this Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Play-Doh&x=0&y=0