Fans of Crayola were a little blue when the staple crayon company announced it was retiring the colour 'Dandelion' In March.
Sure, the flower-inspired deep yellow hue was a little dated looking, but for millennial mums and children, it was a classic and the go-to choice for our page-corner triangle suns.
Crayola has a habit of 'retiring' colours to make room for new ones. In 1990, several shades (mostly of the yellow-orange variety) were retired and Dandelion made its debut.
Crayola announced the reason for Dandelion's departure at the age of 27 is to make way for a new shade of blue. And by 'new', we don't mean to the pews of Crayola-box crayons; we mean new to the world.
In 2009 Oregan State University (OSU) accidentally created an entirely new colour while heating chemicals in a laboratory oven. It was the first 'new blue' to be discovered since the French chemist Louis Jacques Thenard discovered cobalt blue in 1802.
The colour, currently known as YInMn blue, is made up of yttrium, indium and manganese oxides. We're not even sure how to pronounce YInMn but never fear.
The vibrant shade is being adopted by the Crayola family and the company are teaming up with OSU and asking fans to help name it.
Mas Subramanium, a professor of material science at OSU, discovered the colour. He welcomed the partnership with the iconic brand and said it was ‘truly an honour’ that his pigment was being turned into a new crayon.
“This was a serendipitous discovery, a happy accident,” said Prof Subramanium told the Telegraph. “But in fact, many breakthrough discoveries in science happen when one is not looking for it. Most pigments are discovered by chance.
We must admit, the shade is gorgeous. The professor rather poetically puts it, “Blue is associated with open spaces, freedom, intuition, imagination, expressiveness, inspiration and sensitivity.
“We could not imagine a better partner than Crayola, a brand synonymous with colour and creativity to help us share this discovery with the world.”
While these kinds of competitions don't always end how they were intended to (Boaty McBoatface anyone?) we hope the generations of once-aspiring artists will take this matter seriously.
However, some people are simply outraged at Dandelion's fate.
#RIPDanD
