Sesame Street: Making Crayons

[Dhammawitt]

I never knew crayons were such in demand that actual people had to work to make them.. huh.

[TheSkyhorse82]

I probably would have eaten them once.

[TheSmutchypuss]

yeah. they used to show this all the time. i loved this! this and the how to make stamps. but i'm thinking that might have been on mr. rogers.

[splitlogboy913]

im going to stare at this crayon while you watch this...wtf ?!!!!! 0:52 - the old man just threw the crayons out of the mold all hard and stuff. hmm lot of orange goin on here. wtf again.. at 1:59 the orange crayon is brand new again.

[jfwfreo]

This clip is amazing, as is the music.

Whats interesting is the way they seem to go out of their way not to show the actual brand (being that its Sesame Street and all) but any kid who has a set would recognize them anyway :)

[themayocycle]

i want some crayons.

[KeTeVemCovers]

I prefer this over Discovery's How Its Made

[splitlogboy913]

@KeTeVemCovers you have to remember that how its made and dirty jobs are a rip off of mr rogers' neighborhood. he did the on site "what is your job" "how do you do it" and got in there and made paper for one example like mike rowe would on dirty jobs. his show also displayed factory workers assembling various products which is all how its made came to be what it is today.

[splitlogboy913]

@KeTeVemCovers you have to remember that how its made and dirty jobs are a rip off of mr rogers' neighborhood. he did the on site "what is your job" "how do you do it" and got in there and made paper for one example like mike rowe would on dirty jobs. his show also displayed factory workers assembling various products which is all how its made came to be what it is today. i agree. this clip is timelessly the shiznit.

[ClassicTVMan1981X]

This film segment is also on episodes 2484 and 3937.

[tcbyer33]

the best video of all time! I'm jumping up and down inside from excitement from this!

[lizzysan22]

Love it.... also reminds me of a similar Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood clip on how crayons were made.... ahhh for the simpler days! :)

[endochrine]

Thought to be lost only in the memories of a generation. This is a great piece of historical film art. I would like to find out what the jaded guy in the factory does now, if he's still alive.

[1Itry]

Did anyone else smell crayons while watching this?



[TheGizmofromPizmo]

Not shown is the factory in china that makes crayons now.

[valarierenee]

Classic clip. Cheers for this Sesame Street people!

[saeriellyn]

2 people had no childhoods.



[cakestick]

SWEARS ARE BEING SAID AT THE 2 DISLIKES RIGHT NOW

[straylor]

This clip looks like the same footage from a Mister Rogers Neighborhood show as well.

[Warrior443]

i have not seen this video in over 10 years

[celebholly]

A Classic among Classic Sesame Street. So glad to know that at least on Youtube, Classic Sesame Street is valued just as much as newer episodes. :) Thanks for the memories.

[ClassicTVMan1981X]

For those of you who want to know the first episode this segment appeared on: it is #1590, which aired December 11, 1981.

It was seen again in episode #2484, which aired May 12, 1988.

[MIKECNW]

@ClassicTVMan1981X Well even if 1981 was the first time this film appeared, it definitly had aired more times than this.

[ewd76]

They'd have to go to China to film this now.

[ClassicTVMan1981X]

@ewd76

Crayola still has factories in Easton, PA and Bethlehem, PA.

[mrpoopfartinmyass]

you guys are all old :3

[papatoony]

CLASSIC! Wow, talk about a flashback! Someone needs to make a remix of this song and QUICK.

[sowhatsthatabout]

How can he throw the crayons about and not have them all break!

[mishaplumb]

Happy memories! I remember this fondly.

[MsApulina]

I love this!!!

[stoopidbike]

You can tell this is old because none of the factory workers are Asian.

[LoveVampire]

I like how the orange crayon at the end on the bottom far left looks like it's been hanging out in a attic for twenty years.

[ladysundown82]

I forgot how cool this video was. Thank you Etsy!

[vlc4649]

ohmygosh, i totally thought this video was from mr rogers neighborhood for the past 23 years. i'm glad i got that sorted out

[papatoony]

@vlc4649 LOL I thought it was Reading Rainbow! I too got it sorted out.

[jbkitty91990]

@vlc4649 Mr.Rogers did a picture-picture of making yellow crayons though

[sweetmarias]

Totally fascinating how an ORANGE crayon is made, but you should see how a PURPLE one is made. That will blow your mind...

[MitchH452]

MUSIC:

watch?v=lc6pzOxbKrM

[meowcl]

love it <3

[jbkitty91990]

love this i remember watching this and loving the music and video when i was little...boy do i miss those days.

[netsew957]

Bizarre Foods had this music in the San Francisco episode just the other night.

[DNBJerk]

Here I thought I'd NEVER know who wrote the music in this clip. The internet is amazing.

[JonasClark]

The whole Richard Harvey "Nifty Digits" album turns out to be awesome, and the musical theme that's the center of "Exchange" (the main song here) comes back in other songs. "Festival" (two versions on the album) is another really magical piece.

[woollybully100]

oh my goodness, i remember watching this segment when i was a kid, i was probably drawing something with my crayons while watching.

[BTornado14]

Actually, the music is a composition of "Water Course A" and "Exchange" by Richard Harvey.

[astridkitty1212]

I LOVE the groovy Dance of the Dragonfly music! ;)

[luedriver]

damn I thought I hadnt seen this, but as soon as I saw the orange liquid swirl, it all came flooding back to me...

[jenzeppelin]

Thank you Sesame Street for sharing these old clips for all of us to enjoy again. In today's busy world, we need to relax and take a moment and remember the slower, easier days of our childhoods. Thank you for helping us do that.

[SecretTimeWarp]

If that kid sneezes, she's gonna get an eye full of crayon. (Also - major continuity error with the eye!!)

[vergon69minas]

i love crayola!!!! i remember this as a child!!!

[monkey50cal]

old people make crayons wow its like the oppiste of kids whats there plan

[xj14y]

That is 9 pounds of awesome

[sha8808]

funny how they never needed to explain in words, we kinda all figured out what was happening anyway.

[Oldiesmann]

According to the Muppet Wiki, the music is "Water Course A" (beginning and ending segments) and "Exchange" (main segment) by Richard Harvey.

[zx6rtt]

WOW

i TOTALLY remember this episode.

A trip down memory lane.......

[ARTSIEBECCA]

This was my favorite video when I was kid..still love my crayolas!

[mpizzle13]

PERHAPS THE SINGLE BEST PIECE OF RECORDED MATERIAL IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND!!!!!!!!!!!

THIS SONG IS THE BEST SONG EVER MADE!!!!!!!

TAKES ME BACK TO AGE 4

[vaginadeluxe]

If anyone from sesame street inc corp tm or whatever ever reads this i want you to know that you defined my childhood with shit like this. i love you. really.

[skinnyblink7]

Now days it's not old gray haired lady's making them. It's Chinese kids younger than the ones in the video.

[IanPCMcKay]

So iconic

[midnightmadtimes]

This video and the music to it gives me a weird sensation of realizing my childhood is gone and I'm never getting it back.. so strange and sad at the same time..

[bushman13]

Looks very inefficient. Well that Unions for ya.

I'm sure the new Chinese factory will be prosperous for years to come.

...for your health

[maxwolfeee]

Willy Wonka and the crayon factory .

[jaypeterman2100]

Why can't I get a machine like that to roll my lps?

[sherataylor83]

this video has popped in and out of my mind for over 20yrs! when I see or use crayones

[AdamCartwrightMyLove]

Sasame Street always made learning so much fun

[Mary0373]

this video came out in 1984 or 1985. That's what my son thinks. This is the #1 classic Sesame Street clip of all time

[ClassicTVMan1981X]

@Mary0373

Could even be as early as 1979 as Binney & Smith (as Crayola LLC was then known) had changed its corporate logo, but definitely before 1985 as the Crayola name was still in its old extended typesetting it used on their boxes since the mid-1960s.

[Mary0373]

My son loves this clip!:) He thinks of me and my husband when he watches this classic 1980s clip because when me and my husband were dating (1981-1988), this was one of most popular clips of the time.

[rask330]

Just in case no one has set the record straight yet, the main track in this is called "Exchange", by Richard Harvey. It's available on Amazon MP3 and iTunes. It is pretty awesome.

[MIKECNW]

@rask330 Interesting.

NFL films also has this piece in their 1981 film Best Ever Coaches>

[cjs3872]

@MIKECNW

You're referring to the music in this video. That was in the profile they did of Sid Gillman in that feature, which I have. check out "Best Ever Coaches [1981], Part 2" for the piece on Gillman, which features this musical number.

[saugagirl83]

I was always fascinated by this clip when I was a kid and I still love watching it now! I think I also liked it because the little girl holding up the crayon looked like my best friend from when I was little! :)

[rmaspons]

OMG Crayola abuses the elderly!!!!! If u look closely u can see a couple of armed guys forcing them to make happy faces

[minimalscarf]

This was shot right before the little kid decides to eat the crayon.

[papercandles]

@minimalscarf : LOL!

[Venusstar22]

as a child i had always found this video interesting...to this day i still do :-)

[lovelycinnamongirl]

I certainly remember watching this during my childhood! :-)

This video where they're showing you how they make the crayons was filmed in Easton, Pennsylvania. The manufacturing plants featured in this video moved to Forks Township, six miles north of The Crayola Factory at Two Rivers Landing in downtown Easton.

BTW, funny how the crayon that the little girl is staring at has a dull point; but when she puts the crayon back in the box, the point is sharp. :-)

[JonasClark]

So, the opening piece has been IDed. Even the tracks from the "Creepy Toys & Robots" bit have been IDed ("Manège Aux Tuileries" and "Potrait d'un Robot" by Janko Niklovic, album Jouets Musicaux) But still no one has identified the main bouncy music in this clip, save that it's said to have been possibly by Stuart Horn. Anyone? Anyone?

[stromssa]

I watched this when I was a kid in the early '80s and was just mesmerized by the colors and watching how the crayons were made. I probably haven't seen this for 25 years, but it all comes right back now that I am watching it again. It's funny how things you thought you forgot are so implanted deep in your brain...

[joydubyadee]

My favorite part of Sesame Street!

[stephenhkovacs]

Mine too. See if you can guess what my favorite color is from watching this clip. It's like Kermit the Frog.

[sheepwolf2004]

the picture on this video flickers back and forth from full size to half size and when it is half size there are stretch lines at the bottom and the right

[chocolatemonster1030]

one of my earliest wonders!!

[KillaUsman786]

verry interesting

[codeman38]

Between the video of this and the music of Geometry of Circles, it's like Sesame Street prepared me for "Koyaanisqatsi" years before I actually saw it.

[krupasex]

does anyone remember that video that had a robotic hand playing the piano, and pictures of space and i think a car factory?

[codeman38]

The robots video is at watch?v=U1Rhm7kp-tk

[jaslyn8107]

I looooovvvvvveeee this episode so much! I still can hear this music in head 20 plus years later. Thanks for the memory!

[9FGEL1]

I was looking all over for a place to buy this music.... I found it on itunes yesterday!!!

It's on an album: "Nifty Digits" by Richard Harvey....... This track is "Dragonfly Dance". I listened to the rest of the album and it similarly blew my mind - i whole heartedly recommend it!

[BenjaminNBS]

Great detective work - how the hell did you find it??

Well done :-)

[codeman38]

...Oh, wow. I'd always thought this must've been a Sesame Street original composition because of how well it synced to the video. But nope, it's actual buyable production music. Impressive find.

[NEUDude]

OMG!! I just listened to it! It's not exactly the same, but it's very similar. I remember being told this piece of music (the one in the clip) was written by Stuart Horn. I wonder if Richard Harvey got permission to sample this song, or if he plagiarized it! (I can imagine him doing so, since it's not THAT well known.)

[mrDryMartin]

@NEUDude This track (or tracks) were written by Harvey in circa 1979...so it's highly likely that someone else has plagiarized him rather than the other way around...!

[MitchH452]

@9FGEL1 Nope, it's called "Exchange"

[woodstock375]

brings back old memories.. when my uncle was still alive to watch it with me :(

[bajanlibra82]

wow brought back so much childhood memories watching this video.

[navigator012007]

wow i remember this clip! loved it.

[mentalozy]

Red rocket, red rocket

[JamesEnsor]

I always liked the music in this short. Anyone have any idea where I can my hands on it or find out who did it?

[JRNYman]

I didn't watch Sesame Street as a child, but I do remember watching tis with MY kids! Cool!

[waywardsmile]

I didn't watch Sesame Street as a child either, BUT, like you, I'm now watching it with my children.

[santaliqueur]

This is my favorite Sesame Street clip from my childhood. I've not seen this in 20+ years, and I remember every note of the music. Amazing video.

[donnarapture]

I always used to think this was soooo pretty with all the beautiful colours....... :)

[benamy02]

me 2

[sarge6925]

this iss the old way of crayong. *sigh* i miss the old days

[OrientalSoulman]

How old is this video...... Damn...........

[jgwest1]

Sesame Street should remake this clip for 2009. It would be just the same, except for the elderly American workers would be replaced with small Asian children.

[jgwest1]

Wow, I take that back actually. Crayola Crayons are not made overseas - they're made in Pennsylvania.

[brightbite]

True, but point well taken. There are so many things that are made oversees, and I'm not certain it's a good thing for anyone, especially the workers who get so little. Makes me sad.

[danlourenco]

ha!

[shadowscribe]

This where my love of How it's Made came from :)

[YngJey]

so this is wat justin was talking about... now i get it, Lulz.

[TheKnightRyder]

Anybody got a year on this?

[zacandtaylorrule]

I totally remember watching this. Thanks for posting this.

[CDCB2]

Please, start showing full classic (1969-1989) episodes. It would be so helpful to us, especially to see the early seasons 1-5 episodes.

[jackmanslightpepper]

I never would have figured out how crayons were made if not for this clip. Thank U Sesame Street!!

[Vook]

This could be the best instrumental music ever written for a Sesame Street skit.

[cesariojpn]

Kids these days aren't treated to such things like this. Sad.

[BennyMcGhee]

man i miss that trippy 70's music.

[XximwishinxX]

do you think its still done the same way, or do you think they updated to machines?

[cesariojpn]

Search for "How It's Made Crayons." They "updated" a few parts of the process, but not much.

[Bigben1984]

i wonder how much binney and smith paid for this

[4everblue06]

Wow! I remember watching this and thinking it was the coolest thing ever!

[killerkitty777]

woah.....memories.......I can remember sitting there watching this

big mems; Thunder Thunder THUNDERCATS HOOOOOO!!

She-Ra, He-Man,

[hani273nhk]

THANK YOU! I remember this! my favorite! i was going to ask to post the crayon making, but you posted!

[ladiifiasco]

omfg!! i remember this!!!!!

[tubemaster2701]

I remember watching this, and now I'm scared for life.

[flyORLI]

that's so cool!!!

[212teddy]

made in China now...

[Janet1968]

. . . and probably full of lead as well.

[BonzoGal1980]

Nope, Crayola is still made in the States. Pennsylvania to be exact.

[thepoopsniff]

thew way those kids look at me makes me feel like theyre gonna eat my face

[geriann1981]

i had crayons just like that, LOL.

i remember watching this as a kid and loving it!

[CholaChange]

still remember this one and a total favorite! they don't make tv like this anymore

[hiitsmcjosh]

poop

[Quixotic1018]

This brings back memories... tried to make my own crayons first time i saw this.... I was in sooooo much trouble

[BiffyFighters]

lmao xD

[screwzloos]

I remember getting one of the 128 sets when I was six... I was so overwhelmed with the number of choices and the perfection of the set that I never used a single one of them.

To this day there's a brand new (twenty year old) crayon set in a box in mom's basement.

[chrisanthemum7]

still freakin fascinating after all these years

[goobernutz]

the music sounds like Zappa

[TheNilvarg]

Don't insult Richard Harvey like that. Zappa can't even come close to Harvey's genius.

[Shalini022]

I love this! Thanks for posting it! ♥♥♥

[ARTSIEBECCA]

I LOVE THIS..when I was little I cherished my crayons so much that I punched a girl for breaking one of my 64s

[RoseByAnyOtherName10]

haha

[teawithoptimus]

when did this first air?

[BuddyBoy600]

Thanks for reposting it, Sesame Street. It was pulled in May of 2007, Due to Flynnb's suspension (Yes! It was because of Viacom owned Noggin.)

[gameshowguy2000]

If I'm right, Noggin's no longer airing Classic SS shows.

[SweetBrwnSuga]

Yeah your right, they dont. They show watered down childeren's shows and very little things like Sesame Street

[OtherBrother09]

Nostalgia lane right here, that's all I can say.

[longrack]

HOLY! thats amazing!!

[erinashleyx]

OMG this used to make me want to COLOR WITH CRAYONS SOOO BADLY when i was a kid and watched this. wow, scary how dated it looks now...

[maluch]

i love things like this. i use to get so excited!!

[ChLoEzEbRa]

that is amazing!!!!!!

[SaltyTank07]

Thanks for posting this!

[RoseByAnyOtherName10]

haha! i remember this! i loved it. =)

[ARTSIEBECCA]

apparently you have to be elderly to work there!

[vidmunkey]

awesommee thanks ..alot of memories