Sunset in Havana,  Cuba,  November 2016

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Hex colour reference:   EF98AA

A colourful note: everyone who has been watching or participating in the Crayola colour challenge since January is well aware of the fantastic mix of traditional names with quirky ones.  On the whole, Crayola stuck with ordinary colour terms until 1993, when they launched a public naming competition.

This competition generated in the region of 2 million name suggestions.  The rejection list contained a high number of famous names, many of which would have generated copyright, image and political issues.  For example, Clinton gray, Hillary blue and Chelsea blue were all ruled out.  However, it saw the birth of names such as Macaroni and Cheese,  Razzmatazz and Tickle Me Pink.

Today’s dusky pink shade won the name marvellous.  It is clearly a blend of mauve and‎ marvellous, but also has a link with comedy star, Billy Crystal.  His most famous sketch was a parody of Fernando Lamas, a talk-show host whose catchphrase, “You look… mahvelous!”, became a hit for Crystal.  Crystal subsequently released an album of his stand-up material titled “Mahvelous!” as well as a single, “You Look Marvelous”.  Presumably, this connection with stardom was not spotted by Crayola staff.

Copyright Debbie Smyth, 21 April 2017

Part of Color Your World