Below are five items that we are all familiar with that have been on store shelves for decades. We have bought and used them often, but have you ever wondered about their history? Each one has an interesting story that most people have never heard.

Below are five items that we are all familiar with that have been on store shelves for decades. We have bought and used them often, but have you ever wondered about their history? Each one has an interesting story that most people have never heard.

Crayola Crayons

In 1903, cousins Edwin Binney and Harold Smith produced their first box of Crayola crayons. The boxes sold for a nickel each and contained eight colours; red, green, yellow, orange, violet, blue, black, and brown. The name Crayola was invented by Edwin’s wife Alice by combining craie, the French word for chalk and ola, short for oleaginous meaning oily.Over the years Crayola crayons took on many changes. In 1958 the built-in sharpener was an innovative addition to the ever growing box of new colours.

Crayons were given unforgettable names like; Periwinkle, Purple Pizzazz, Razzle Dazzle Rose, Tickle Me Pink, Fuzzy Wuzzy Brown, Macaroni and Cheese, Tumbleweed, and Razzamatazz. In 1990, eight traditional crayons were replaced with new shades and the retired colours were then enshrined in the Crayola Hall of Fame. Protesters from such groups as CRAYON (Committee to Re-establish All Your Old Norms) and RUMPS (Raw Umber and Maize Preservation Society) helped convince Binney & Smith to bring those colours back out of retirement. In 1991 the eight retired crayons were reinstated. Binney & Smith released a limited 1 million boxes of the retired colours with the 64 crayon box. They were called “The Crayola Eight.”

Cream of Tartar

Cream of tartar is made from a type of sediment called argol that deposits on the inside walls of winemaking casks. McCormick & Company buys their cream of tartar from Italy where wine makers and casks are plentiful. The cream of tartar is retrieved from the empty barrels by tiny little people who are able to crawl through the small openings of empty wine casks where they scrape the residue left behind from fermented wine.

Another name for Cream of Tartar is Potassium Bitartrate. It is also used in the making of tin plate metals, baking soda, and in laxatives and if stored properly, Cream of Tartar has an indefinite shelf life.

Ivory Soap

Harley Procter, the producer of Ivory Soap, was looking for a new formula that could compete with the then popular castile soaps. He consulted his cousin, chemist James Gamble who formulated an appealing white creamy bar. Soon after the production (only one day), the factory worker who ran the master mixer forgot to switch off the machine before taking his lunch break.

The over-mixing caused too much air to be mixed into the soap but, it was dried, cut, and packaged just the same. To their surprise, consumers loved the floating soap and demanded more of it. The fact that the air filled bars lasted only half as long as other soap bars, did not deter customers, they were willing to pay more money for the luxury of a floating soap that would not elude them in bath water.

There has been some controversy over this story with some saying long whipping of soap batches was intentional. Whatever the true story, the fact remains that people were willing to pay for bath soap that lasted half the time of other soaps and the convenience of a soap that floats.

WD-40

WD-40 was invented in 1953 by Norman Larsen who was head chemist and president of the Rocket Chemical Company in San Diego California. He was trying to develop a formula that would displace water and on his fortieth try he found it, hence the name Water Displacement 40 or WD-40. The formula was used to discourage corrosion on nose cones of airplanes and Atlas Missiles and to displace moisture from electrical circuitry.

Rocket Chemical Company engineers found how well WD-40 worked and began sneaking it home for personal use. It didn’t take long for word to get around about the multitude of new uses for this amazing new product so, in 1958 WD-40 became available to the public. In 1961 a more pleasant fragrance was added to hide the odor of the petroleum distillates. Now, the “WD-40 Company” (renamed in 1969) produces over a million gallons of their “secret sauce” and distributes it to packers who then add propellant and solvent before packaging.

Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum

Did you know that 2.5 billion dollars worth of gum is chewed yearly in America alone? The Great American Chewing Gum Book states that if the yearly amount of chewed sticks of gum in America were laid end to end, it would measure 5 million miles long. This equals in measurement the same length it would take to travel to and from the moon ten times!

In WWII Wrigley’s advertisements suggested that war workers should chew at least five sticks of gum per day stating that men felt and worked better when they chewed gum. Soldiers not only chewed gum but found practical uses for it. They used chewed gum as patches for gas tanks, life rafts, jeep and truck tires, and even for fixing airplane parts. It was also considered an essential emergency ration to relieve dry throats during long marches and for relieving tension in battle and since that time, (World War II) all American soldiers are issued gum in their survival kits and K rations.