I believe that you are never too old to enjoy coloring. When I am stressed out, I get out my favorite coloring book and some crayons and relieve my stress.

Crayola crayons are my favorite kind to use. There are other brands of course, such as Roseart, but I have found that Crayola crayons are brighter and color better than their competitors

Crayons are easier to use when they are sharp, so a crayon sharpener is a must.

Europe is reported to be the birthplace of crayons, and the first crayons were made of charcoal and oil. Powdered pigments in different colors replaced the charcoal. Wax was then used in place of the oil; the wax made the crayons sturdier.

Joseph Binney was the founder of the Peekskill Chemical Company in Peekskill, N.Y. The company created products such as lampblack charcoal and red paint that was used to paint barns.

This company also came up with a way to increase car tires’ tread life by four times; this was done by adding carbon black to the product.

In 1885, Binney teamed with his nephew C. Harold Smith to form Binney & Smith. Their new company also made shoe polish and printing ink.

In 1900, their company bought a stone mill in Easton, Pennsylvania and started manufacturing slate pencils for schools.

Binney and Smith continued to create products that were useful for teachers and schoolchildren.

In 1902, at the St. Louis World Exhibition, they also won a gold medal for their new product for teachers: dustless chalk.

However, they still continued to look for ways to create nontoxic and colorful drawing tools that children could safely use. The wax crayons they used to mark crates and barrels were not safe for children because they contained a high level of carbon black.

The company then began to mix wax and pigment, which was a safer combination. The first box of Crayola crayons hit the market in 1903.

There were eight colors in the original Crayola box: black, brown, blue, red, purple, orange, yellow and green. Originally, a box of Crayola crayons cost a nickel.

Binney’s wife came up with the name for the product by combining the French words for chalk (craie) and oily (oleaginous).

Today, there are many different crayon colors. There are also crayons that sparkle with glitter, glow in the dark, change colors, smell like flowers and are washable.

In 1949, the company extended its colors to a 48 crayon box, 64 in 1958, and 96 in 1993. The 64 color crayon box also comes with a built in sharpener in the back.

In 1972, Crayola introduced fluorescent colors.

In 1993, Crayola sponsored the &uot;Name the new color contest,&uot; as part of its 90 year anniversary. Crayola fans were given the opportunity to name 16 colors.

These colors were asparagus, granny smith apple, pacific blue, robin’s egg blue, timber wolf, wisteria, cerise, macaroni and cheese, purple mountain’s majesty, shamrock, tropical rain forest, denim, mauvelous, razzmatazz, tickle me pink and tumbleweed.

There are currently 120 Crayola crayon colors. These include 23 reds, 19 blues, 16 purples, 14 oranges, 11 browns, eight yellows, two grays, two coppers, two black, one white, one gold and one silver.

Although there are 120 different colors of crayons, there are only 18 color labels, which cover the whole color spectrum.

For the 100th year anniversary, crayon fans named four new colors: blizzard blue, magic mint, mulberry and teal blue.

I believe that coloring is something people of all ages can do. Parents can color with their children and grandparents with their grandchildren. Coloring is a way to keep children entertained and keep their attention.

In Sunday School, children can color pages that show them the Bible story they just heard. Coloring is a visual way to help children learn and have fun at the same time.

My favorite Crayon colors are in the green and blue families. I like Sea Green, Caribbean Green, Mountain Meadow, Robin’s Egg Blue, Pacific Blue, and Cornflower.

Coloring has no age boundaries and it is a relatively inexpensive activity. Coloring books can be bought from the dollar store and the prices of Crayola crayons vary by the size of the box. Obviously the more crayons in the box, the more money you have to pay.

Well, fellow readers, go get a coloring book and a box of Crayola crayons and start to color.