The Crayon in Wallet Hack

I’ll be honest, I was a bit reluctant to write an article regarding the unique situation where people have started carrying a Crayon in their wallets. I’m not the biggest fan of writing content simply due to hype but I thought considering it’s wallet-related and the idea is novel why not consider why, you yourself, should consider carrying a Crayon in Your Wallet? 

Most articles online talking about this odd idea are simply ignoring a) where it originated from, and b) whether is it even the best idea in the first place. We wanted to cover the origins of this unusual trend and debunk some of the really odd clickbaity articles circulating the internet at the moment regarding the origins of this hack. This article is written solely to play devil’s advocate and to talk about what you should/shouldn’t do and whether or not it’s even the best thing to do in the first place. 

Where did this Crayon Trend Originate?

As far as I’m aware I could only find information regarding this weird hack or trick as recent as early 2020. The first article I found discussing the idea was by the website Mom.com which wrote an article on the 22nd of February simply titled ‘This Is Why You Should Be Carrying Crayons Wrapped In Paper With You Everywhere You Go’. 

The article goes into detail regarding the story of Sarah Elrod-Ausbrook who was most likely the first person to use and conceive this technique – or at least was taught it as part of her child endangerment training and protocol. The idea is simple. If you have a gut feeling that a child is in danger or trouble secretly hand them a crayon wrapped in paper. Here they can inconspicuously write a note asking for help and do so in a way that looks innocent – sounds logical in theory. 

Although the article itself never mentions the idea of carrying crayons in your wallet (just on you in any capacity) I decided to try actually carrying a Crayon with me to see if it’s actually logical in practice to do so. 

I Tried Carrying a Crayola Crayon in My Wallet for One Week

The biggest issue I found with the idea of carrying a Crayon in my wallet on a daily basis was down to the logistics of actually effectively storing it. Let’s be honest, wallets aren’t made to store or accommodate something like a crayon so I couldn’t see how easy or effective trying to do so would be. 

Immediately I had to consider the wallet I wanted to use. Anything made from metal or designed with thinness was out of the question including cardholders and most minimalist wallets. There’s just nothing to secure the Crayon in place.

What you’re left with is a classic bi-fold style wallet. The place and most effective space here are directly in the wallet’s seam. The place where the two halves of the bi-fold meet and fold together. This is much more realistic, yet still has the issue of having the wallet close properly without creating too much bulk – not ideal.

Another issue I found was the durability of Crayons being too low and them snapping under the strain of daily life (caused by high friction caused by being in a wallet). In just 1 week I went through 3 crayons that had snapped through the middle simply because the combined effect of the wallet and tightness of your pocket can be too much stress for the Crayon in question. You really have to be actively careful and conscious not to accidentally break crayons in the process.

The best way of achieving this is probably choosing Crayola, the most famous Crayon brand in the world that’s been producing high-quality Crayons since 1885. Not only are these Crayons much more durable but just better quality with cheap knock-offs being terrible to write with and sometimes not legible in writing. 

So Should You Use the Crayon Trick?

So why use a crayon in the first place? I can conceive of a lot of reasons why a Crayon is better than say a pencil or pen. First of all, when it comes to giving it to a child then it looks a lot less inconspicuous. After all, a child playing or drawing with a Crayon most likely seems a lot more natural than a pen. Secondly, Crayons are a lot smaller in size and easier to carry than a lot of other writing implements. 

That’s not to say the Crayons don’t have a bunch of negatives you need to consider. Firstly, Crayons are quite brittle and the chances of one snapping in your pocket or wallet over time are quite probable. As mentioned in the previous section when I tried carrying one for a week this happened multiple times. Secondly, unlike pencils Crayons don’t need to be sharpened so you wouldn’t need to worry about the pencil snapping, or ink running in the advent you needed to use this trick. It’s simply easier and more convenient. 

Finally, I’d also like to dispel the idea that a Crayon could melt in your pocket due to body heat. Officially Crayola has an article talking about the melting point of their Crayons. Crayons begin to soften at around 105 degrees Fahrenheit (or 40.5 degrees Celsius) with their melting point being between 120-147 degrees Fahrenheit. Because of this, it’s very unlikely a crayon could ever melt or even soften due to body heat considering the temperature of the human body. So this shouldn’t be an issue in this case. 

Alternatives to Carrying a Crayon

After giving it some thought I’d probably say the best alternative to a Crayon is probably a small (half-sized) colored pencil. Although the issues of pencil lead snapping are still the major con here, a colored pencil is much more durable, easier to store in a wallet (as its less brittle), and retains all the advantageous benefits of a crayon as its more child-friendly and would draw less attention if a child had one. 

Cryon in Wallet Benefits

Even though I’m not entirely convinced of the benefits of carrying a Crayon in your wallet there are some advantages or benefits (outside of the original reasons altogether) that may be better reasons to carry a Crayon with you – especially if you have kids. 

• As mentioned earlier the melting point of wax is 40.5 degrees. Keeping a Crayon in your car could be a good indicator and reminder that your car is getting too hot and the potential dangers that go with it. 

• If you have kids then a Crayon, or a set of Crayons, as entertainment when in a restaurant or on long car journeys. 

• For use in games. If you’re bored on a night out or want something to entertain yourself than a Crayon can be used in a number of card games (doesn’t damage the playing cards).

So What’s the Verdict?

After browsing a range of articles dating from 2020 to the present it seems the idea of carrying a crayon in your wallet has naturally taken a life of its own. If you read recent articles regarding this crayon idea we’ve gone from an innocent story about potentially saving a child from trafficking to a weird gimmick regarding travel or even a way to help keep cards straight. The original article posted by mom.com never even mentioned the term ‘wallet’ so who knows where they came from and how it came to be. 

There’s no doubt that his crayon hack is a wonderful and seemly effective way to help a potential child in need. Even if this Crayon Trick has only ever been successfully used once it’s already worth its weight in gold. Who knows how my children’s lives could be saved with this or a similar trick. At the end of the day, you don’t need to store the Crayon in your wallet. Simply having it in your pocket, car (although keep it out of sunlight) or backpack is probably a more logical way of storing it.