Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - The Sleepy History of Crayons (Premium)

Episode Date: December 10, 2020

This is a preview episode. Get the full episode, and many more, ad free, on our supporter's feed: https://getsleepy.com/support. The Sleepy History of CrayonsTonight, Tom traces the history of a famous colorful toy. 😴  Sound design: crickets.  About Get Sleepy Premium: Help support the podcast, and get: Monday and Wednesday night episodes (with zero ads) The exclusive Thursday night bonus episode Access to the entire back catalog (also ad-free) Premium sleep meditations, extra-long episodes and more! We'll love you forever. ❤️ Get a 7 day free trial, and join the Get Sleepy community here https://getsleepy.com/support. And thank you so, so much.  Tom, and the team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi, Thomas here. You're listening to a preview episode. You can enjoy the entire story tonight by subscribing to our supporters' feed. There you'll get access to the entire back catalogue, bonus episodes, and more, and it's all completely ad-free. Click the link below to learn more. And thank you so so much. Me and the team really appreciate your support. The crayons exact origins are not entirely clear, but history shows us that in many ways crayons and things like them were invented and reinvented many times over. Indeed, humans have used coloured implements to illustrate their imaginations for thousands of years. Nowadays we often associate crayons with children, but their predecessors were often used by

academics, artists and writers to bring to life their vivid ideas. One of the earliest examples of using wax to create art is synchistic or hot wax painting which first emerged in ancient Egypt and Greece. Wax is both versatile and resilient, allowing artists to create images on stone, wood or canvas. Artists would place plain beeswax in a bowl and gently heat it over an open flame. Then, they would pour in dried pigments or powdered colors made from berries, flowers, and other natural ingredients. As the wax melted, the granules of color sank and fused together during the mixing process. But, if this paint-like solution cooled, it would be too hard to use.

So, while it was still warm, the artist would doorbit across a surface and shape it with brushes and small metal tools. The Romans took this style of Enchorstick painting and introduced it to all the corners of their expansive empire. the corners of their expansive empire. Artists use the method to create highly detailed images of their leaders and gods. Even today, thousands of years after it was first invented, artists are still combining hot wax and colours to make malleable paints. In the 13th century, artisans in Europe began to experiment with new materials for writing and etching. They found that they were able to draw more easily on parchment and other forms of early paper by mixing sticks of black charcoal with oils.

Over time, the oils were replaced with beeswax, which had much better binding properties. The other advantage of wax was that it could be combined with pigments. These creations are the ancestors of the crayons we know today. Somewhere around the 15th century, chalk-based pastures appeared. By mixing chalk and pigments into solid sticks, artists and writers were able to sketch with much more detail. Leonardo da Vinci famously used pastures to etch many of his famous diagrams, including concepts for a powered cart and a robotic knight. Pastors later made their way to England and France, where a variety of new pigments were

used in the mixture. This meant that they could be made in an exciting array of different colors, and it was in Paris that the roots of the modern crayon truly took hold. In 1755, Nikolaj Jakkonte was born in a picturesque French commune close to the river on. Konte was a precocious child who was drawn to the arts and sciences. At 14, he began working as a professional painter, while also following his passion for the mechanical sciences. As an adult, Conte found himself serving as an officer in the army during the French Revolution. By that time, his technical prowess and artistic skill were common knowledge among the field.

They were made from flatwood and a length of plumbago, a natural form of graphite found in England. These pencils were often used by soldiers to write communications, note supplies, and more. During the course of the war, France found itself cut off from its supply of Plum Bego. Without more, it would be impossible to make any new pencils. So, Conte was given the task of coming up with an alternative.