How are crayons made?
April 6, 2024 9:43 PM Subscribe
I have a profound sense memory of this segment. Look at all those yellow crayons!
As a child I wasn't equipped to appreciate how charming the musical accompaniment is. The percussion mimicking the machines while the piano sort of meanders around the beauty of the movement and color? Sublime.
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 11:05 PM on April 6 [17 favorites]
As a child I wasn't equipped to appreciate how charming the musical accompaniment is. The percussion mimicking the machines while the piano sort of meanders around the beauty of the movement and color? Sublime.
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 11:05 PM on April 6 [17 favorites]
"I've often thought about people making crans."
How do YOU say "crayon?"
posted by pracowity at 11:45 PM on April 6 [7 favorites]
How do YOU say "crayon?"
posted by pracowity at 11:45 PM on April 6 [7 favorites]
YT link if you can't access the PBS video (couldn't get to it in NZ).
posted by phigmov at 11:57 PM on April 6 [2 favorites]
posted by phigmov at 11:57 PM on April 6 [2 favorites]
I love watching Mister Rogers do just about anything, and for anyone else reading this who loves Mister Rogers, I'd just like to make sure you know about these things:
* five episodes, twice a month (1st Monday, 3rd Monday) at the Mister Rogers site
* some excellent early and mid episodes at the Internet Archive
* everything you could possibly ever want to know about Mister Rogers episodes at The Neighborhood Archive (which episodes include "I'm Taking Care of You"? which episode has Mabel Mercer singing it? which episodes have Edgar Cooke?)
I feel lucky to be alive when Mister Rogers created his wonderful testament of love.
Thank you for this, bq. What a wonderful moment.
posted by kristi at 12:07 AM on April 7 [12 favorites]
* five episodes, twice a month (1st Monday, 3rd Monday) at the Mister Rogers site
* some excellent early and mid episodes at the Internet Archive
* everything you could possibly ever want to know about Mister Rogers episodes at The Neighborhood Archive (which episodes include "I'm Taking Care of You"? which episode has Mabel Mercer singing it? which episodes have Edgar Cooke?)
I feel lucky to be alive when Mister Rogers created his wonderful testament of love.
Thank you for this, bq. What a wonderful moment.
posted by kristi at 12:07 AM on April 7 [12 favorites]
Things aren't always easy here in buttonmonkey world, for reasons that aren't important to detail right now. What is important is, having watched that, I feel like the world has given me a hug and that the sun has come out for the day. That was just so calming and wonderful. Thank you.
posted by onebuttonmonkey at 4:03 AM on April 7 [7 favorites]
posted by onebuttonmonkey at 4:03 AM on April 7 [7 favorites]
"I've often thought about people making crans."
How do YOU say "crayon?"
Like everyone's favorite holiday dish, crayon-berries, of course.
Watching this, in addition to how it's always interesting to see industrial machinery (like those little protrusions on the conveyor belt that turn the boxes 90 degrees -- someone had to think of that and fine tune it to make it work perfectly), what stood out to me is how Mr Rogers didn't dumb things down. He used big words ("collation," "pigment") rather than simplistic synonyms, for example. He's talking to kids, but without talking down to them, which is so rare.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:56 AM on April 7 [6 favorites]
How do YOU say "crayon?"
Like everyone's favorite holiday dish, crayon-berries, of course.
Watching this, in addition to how it's always interesting to see industrial machinery (like those little protrusions on the conveyor belt that turn the boxes 90 degrees -- someone had to think of that and fine tune it to make it work perfectly), what stood out to me is how Mr Rogers didn't dumb things down. He used big words ("collation," "pigment") rather than simplistic synonyms, for example. He's talking to kids, but without talking down to them, which is so rare.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:56 AM on April 7 [6 favorites]
So much of what we see and hear in everyday life is about things which are fundamentally broken in various ways. Broken institutions. Broken corporations. Broken people.
This is not broken.
And this reminded me that there was a time when I didn't really know how broken the world was, and that there was a future for me that wasn't so fundamentally broken. Fred Rogers was that future. Now that I think of it, Jim Henson, too. And those women who were working at the Learn-and-Play Garden preschool in the early 70's.
I have this hypothesis that the winding down of the counter-culture meant everyone needed a job, and there was this -- well, wrangling preschoolers was always a young-woman's job, so there were openings there, and it's fun playing with kids, and public TV was looking for anything to broadcast, so they got pitched these shows for kids from people who actually thought of kids as people. There's also the blowback from the "Vast Wasteland of TV" that plays into this. I'm sure others have written on it, but this reminded me that this was a product of its time. And in this regard, I am overwhelmed with nostalgia for it.
posted by mikelieman at 8:00 AM on April 7 [9 favorites]
This is not broken.
And this reminded me that there was a time when I didn't really know how broken the world was, and that there was a future for me that wasn't so fundamentally broken. Fred Rogers was that future. Now that I think of it, Jim Henson, too. And those women who were working at the Learn-and-Play Garden preschool in the early 70's.
I have this hypothesis that the winding down of the counter-culture meant everyone needed a job, and there was this -- well, wrangling preschoolers was always a young-woman's job, so there were openings there, and it's fun playing with kids, and public TV was looking for anything to broadcast, so they got pitched these shows for kids from people who actually thought of kids as people. There's also the blowback from the "Vast Wasteland of TV" that plays into this. I'm sure others have written on it, but this reminded me that this was a product of its time. And in this regard, I am overwhelmed with nostalgia for it.
posted by mikelieman at 8:00 AM on April 7 [9 favorites]
I couldn't care if I ever watched a TV program, and there is only one in the house because Mr BlueHorse watches it. I did turn on the TV for the kids to watch Mr. Rodgers, and I enjoyed sitting and watching it with them. It kind of hurt when the kids started saying it was a kid show, stupid, they only wanted to watch the cool stuff*. I wasn't going to force them to watch it, so I didn't watch it after that until the grandkidlets were born. But there was a lot more competition then with Blue's Clues, Clifford, Peppa Pig, etc. and they preferred those. I wasn't much fun--at my house you could watch Mr. Rodgers or Sesame Street, because those are the classics!
*Ha! I am vindicated. They now understand how wonderful Mr. Rodgers truly was, and they miss him.
posted by BlueHorse at 8:44 AM on April 7 [1 favorite]
*Ha! I am vindicated. They now understand how wonderful Mr. Rodgers truly was, and they miss him.
posted by BlueHorse at 8:44 AM on April 7 [1 favorite]
"I've often thought about people making crans."
How do YOU say "crayon?"
Mr. Rogers grew up in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where his childhood best friend was the golfer Arnold Palmer. Like many people who grew up in that part of Pennsylvania, he diphthongizes his vowels. I hear him say it "cray-uns" with a schwa on the last syllable, but there's definitely an attempt to elide two vowels into one, which is very Pennsylvanian, dialect-wise. We Pennsylvanians love to give you two vowels for the price of one.
If you want hear another example of a Pennsylvanian diphthonging their vowels, listen to this SNL sketch featuring Tina Fey (from Upper Darby, Pennsylvania next to Philly). I grew up in the Harrisburg area, but the way Tina Fey pronounces the "o" sound in "hoagie" is *chef's kiss* & totally authentic & on point. Kenan Thompson (not a Pennsylvanian) tries to do the diphthongized o in the sketch, but completely botches it so it sounds like a Minnesotan Fargo-style elongated "o" instead.
posted by jonp72 at 9:50 AM on April 7 [2 favorites]
How do YOU say "crayon?"
Mr. Rogers grew up in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, where his childhood best friend was the golfer Arnold Palmer. Like many people who grew up in that part of Pennsylvania, he diphthongizes his vowels. I hear him say it "cray-uns" with a schwa on the last syllable, but there's definitely an attempt to elide two vowels into one, which is very Pennsylvanian, dialect-wise. We Pennsylvanians love to give you two vowels for the price of one.
If you want hear another example of a Pennsylvanian diphthonging their vowels, listen to this SNL sketch featuring Tina Fey (from Upper Darby, Pennsylvania next to Philly). I grew up in the Harrisburg area, but the way Tina Fey pronounces the "o" sound in "hoagie" is *chef's kiss* & totally authentic & on point. Kenan Thompson (not a Pennsylvanian) tries to do the diphthongized o in the sketch, but completely botches it so it sounds like a Minnesotan Fargo-style elongated "o" instead.
posted by jonp72 at 9:50 AM on April 7 [2 favorites]
absolute pinnacle of audiovisual art; absolute best of web
posted by busted_crayons at 10:03 AM on April 7 [2 favorites]
posted by busted_crayons at 10:03 AM on April 7 [2 favorites]
Happy sigh.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 10:12 AM on April 7 [1 favorite]
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 10:12 AM on April 7 [1 favorite]
I was happy to see this, because my other childhood crayon-making point of reference is this one from Sesame Street. Less verbal narration, more music that completely rules and slaps. I love this soundtrack more than almost anything.
posted by knotty knots at 12:59 PM on April 7 [7 favorites]
posted by knotty knots at 12:59 PM on April 7 [7 favorites]
as someone who grew up in michigan, i also say crans. i also say acrosst the street. lol.
posted by danjo at 1:10 PM on April 7 [2 favorites]
posted by danjo at 1:10 PM on April 7 [2 favorites]
I could listen to Fred Rogers play piano all day. He didn’t improvise his words, but surely he did with jazz.
posted by rikschell at 2:08 PM on April 7 [2 favorites]
posted by rikschell at 2:08 PM on April 7 [2 favorites]
This is my favorite Mr. Rogers episode... thanks for this :)
posted by honeybee413 at 7:35 PM on April 7 [1 favorite]
posted by honeybee413 at 7:35 PM on April 7 [1 favorite]
If you have a Crayola Factory nearby (it's a place for little kids, not an actual factory) they have a show using an (old, maybe original, I don't recall?) demo machine and they make crayons and give you one. It's surprisingly cool.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:00 PM on April 7 [2 favorites]
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:00 PM on April 7 [2 favorites]
Why didn't John Stewart ever interview Fred Rogers?
I can’t imagine Rogers sitting for an interview with Stewart given the highly political bent of The Daily Show at that time.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:00 AM on April 8 [2 favorites]
I can’t imagine Rogers sitting for an interview with Stewart given the highly political bent of The Daily Show at that time.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:00 AM on April 8 [2 favorites]
If you have a Crayola Factory nearby (it's a place for little kids, not an actual factory) they have a show using an (old, maybe original, I don't recall?) demo machine and they make crayons and give you one. It's surprisingly cool.
Seconding this. For those in the Mid-Atlantic, the Crayola Factory in Easton, PA is a great way to spend a day with small children.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 6:49 AM on April 8 [2 favorites]
Seconding this. For those in the Mid-Atlantic, the Crayola Factory in Easton, PA is a great way to spend a day with small children.
posted by Ben Trismegistus at 6:49 AM on April 8 [2 favorites]
The other bit of genius to point out on this video is the sound design. Not only did Mr. Rogers (along with Johnny Costa, a well-known and talented jazz pianist who served as Rogers' music director) have wonderful washes of light, open jazz voicings on piano over the narration, but consider the sound effects as well. A lot of the "foley" is done with a muted snare drum, hi-hat cymbal, woodblock, etc. to provide an idea of how the machines must sound without introducing the actual din of a shop floor. It just all comes together.
Last year I read a biography of Fred Rogers called The Good Neighbor, by Maxwell King. It's worth the time if you want a deeper understanding of how the show came to be as well as the man himself. The book does a great job of giving the man the flowers he deserves while gently removing him from any pedestal. This is for the best, as seeing how very human Fred Rogers was makes work like his seem more achievable by others.
posted by pianoblack at 8:43 AM on April 8 [5 favorites]
Last year I read a biography of Fred Rogers called The Good Neighbor, by Maxwell King. It's worth the time if you want a deeper understanding of how the show came to be as well as the man himself. The book does a great job of giving the man the flowers he deserves while gently removing him from any pedestal. This is for the best, as seeing how very human Fred Rogers was makes work like his seem more achievable by others.
posted by pianoblack at 8:43 AM on April 8 [5 favorites]
Why didn't John Stewart ever interview Fred Rogers?
The Television Academy/Archive of American Television interviewed him a few years before he died. It is 9 parts, each roughly 30 minutes so it is quite an extensive interview. Scroll down and click on each chapter to see the full chapter.
I love that website. It is an invaluable resource of a big part of our culture for 75 years.
posted by theartandsound at 11:27 PM on April 10
The Television Academy/Archive of American Television interviewed him a few years before he died. It is 9 parts, each roughly 30 minutes so it is quite an extensive interview. Scroll down and click on each chapter to see the full chapter.
I love that website. It is an invaluable resource of a big part of our culture for 75 years.
posted by theartandsound at 11:27 PM on April 10
Mod note: Come along and watch as we add this post to the sidebar and Best Of blog!
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 8:46 AM on April 13 [2 favorites]
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 8:46 AM on April 13 [2 favorites]
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