Mary Mayor, age 12, of Marysville, Ohio, for her question;

What are crayons made of?

It is a messy job, but you can mix up a batch of colored crayons for yourself. The recipe calls for a cup of water and a quarter cup of white paraffin wax. Melt them together over the stove, stir in a quarter cup of pure potash and allow the mixture to cool. Next stir in about a spoonful of gum arabic, divide the mixture and add an assortment of powdered colors. The messy job begins when you try to roll out the mixture into crayon shape s. ' The chalk crayons on the market are made from chalk, powdered coloring materials and some kind of gum to hold these powdered ingredients together. Wax crayons have a base of paraffin wax or soap. Sometimes clay is added to give body to the recipe.

Nowadays, most of the colored crayons on the market are made of non‑poisonous materials. So, if you have a habit of chewing the end of pencils and crayons, you will not get poisoned. However, it is better to wait for meal time because the flavor of these non‑poisonous crayons will not please you.