After making 1.4 billion crayons, the senior crayon maker for Crayola admitted he was color blind.
Since 1903 Crayola has been famous for their wide color spectrum of art devices. You’d think the ability to see the full color spectrum would be a prerequisite for the job. But just like that English teacher who never learned how to read, there was a man who in his 37 year career at Crayola, spanning 1.4 billion crayons, had been colorblind the whole time.
His name is Emerson Moser, and he made the announcement when he retired. But if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you know that colorblindness isn’t uncommon. Up to 8 percent of men have it in some form, and over 10 million American males have it. Of course as you also likely know, this doesn’t mean seeing everything in black and white.
That condition is called monochromacy and is exceedingly rare. The colorblind just have fewer photoreceptors in their eyes. The unfortunate thing is that colorblindness can restrict some career choices. Air Force pilots can’t be colorblind, and neither can electricians or firefighters. The strange this is that apparently Crayola workers, people whose entire working lives are devoted to creating colors, don’t need to be able to see the full spectrum.
