If you were a colour, what hue would you be? A soft cerise, an earthy sage, a golden honey tone?
Well, the geniuses over at Crayola – the crayon giants who brought so much joy to us as children – have invited a new shade of blue, making it the first new blue pigment in almost 200 years, and is on the search for a new name for the shade.
According to The Creators Project, scientists from Oregon State University discovered the colour by accident while studying the electronic properties of manganese oxide.
'Our work had nothing to do with looking for a pigment,' admitted chemist Mas Subramanian.
'Then one day a graduate student who is working on the project was taking samples out of a very hot furnace while I was walking by, and it was blue, a very beautiful blue. I realised immediately that something amazing had happened,' he added.
You don't say, Mas.
Until now, the new blue colour has been given the boring ass name 'YInMn', as it's made up of Yttrium, Indium and Manganese. However, with Crayola recently announcing the shade will be the latest entry to their 24-box crayon set (it's replacing Dandelion after 27 years), it's on a mission to find the colour a new moniker.
Fortunately for us, they're put the decision to a public vote.
And yes, while it might be hilarious to vote for 'covfefe' following President Donald Trump's Twitter blunder earlier this week, others are taking to Twitter to suggest the colour should be named 'Chiron', after the protagonist in the Oscars 2017's Best Picture winner, Moonlight.
If you haven't yet had the fortune of watching the film yet (shame on you), Chiron is seen struggling with his sexuality for the duration of the film, after falling in love with his childhood friend, amid family break-ups, the devastating loss of a father-type figure, and temptations of a career in crime.
The film's director, Barry Jenkins, is thrilled with the suggestion for the blue hue to be named after the film's character, and is retweeting suggestions of the name from his own Twitter account, including one tweet from Moonlight co-writer Tarell Octavian.
Chiron derives from Greek mythology and was known to be the 'wisest and justest' of all centaurs and a teacher to Achilles and Jason, so that alone should be reason enough for the colour to be named after the character.
Oh, and the new blue looks identical to the shade of blue in the film's iconic poster, don't you think?
Voting on the colour's new name ends at 11.59pm tonight so get tweeting #Chiron and enter your suggestion here in order for your vote to be counted.
The name will be unveiled later this year.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
