Crayola Color Switchers and Over Writers Markers: What's Inside the Box

The Crayola Over Writers and  Color Switchers markers are really cool markers that can change colors with a special over marker. Part of the hard things with coloring is the whole light versus dark especially with markers.  When coloring the lighter color has to be colored in first and the darker color colored around it. It is very hard to put a light color on top of a dark color. With these markers words can be drawn in dark colors, suns added to the sky, lines drawn for patterns, the possibilities are endless. 

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Both the OverWriters and the Color Switchers operate on the same principle, but have different descriptions. The OverWriter Markers consist of "over" colors which replace the "under" colors.  The Color Switchers have a "secret, hidden color".  "When you lip flip the marker and apply the special color switcher, watch the magic begin". The difference is the Over Writer Markers can be use interchangeably, but the Color Switchers can not. They have to be used with the certain undercolor since they are attached to one another.

The patent basically says there are two markers needed to make the color changing work, an undercolor which contains a "dye whose coloring ability is destroyed in the presence of an acid" and an acidic overcolor with a low pH.  When the overcolor is used the undercolor's dye is removed.  There have been many iterations of development with these markers trying to improve; the washabilty, the overcolor getting stained with use, and being able to use the overcolor with more than one undercolor.  I do no know which ones these fall under but I would guess they are both not washable.   There are also patents for color changing crayons, but I do not have any of these...yet.

Collecting Information
Boxes: 8 Count Crayola OverWriters Markers (2003), 6 Count Crayola Color Switchers Markers (2008)
Year: 2003, 2008
What's inside the box:
Crayola OverWriters Markers: black under color, purpler under color, brown under color, yellow over color, blue over color, green over color, pink over color
Color Switchers Makers: Scarlet Starlit to Bold Gold, Screamin' Green to Grape Ape, Tangerine Dream to Scary Canary, Denim Venom to Icy Dicey, Mustard Custar to Looney Marooney, Yummy Plummy to Inky Pinky
Purchase Information: Received them as a gift
Where to buy: eBay (Color Switchers)
Related Patents: US Patent 5,326,388, Color changing compositions, Color changing compositions US Patent 5,352,282, Color changing compositions; US Patent 5,486,228, Washable color changing compositions , US Patent 5,489,331 Color changing compositions using acids
Style Number: 58-8139 (OverWriters), 58-8170 (Color Switchers)
Code Number: 58-8139-0-200 (OverWriters), 58-8170-0-300 (Color Switchers)
UPC: 071662081393 (OverWriters), 071662081706 (Color Switchers)

2003 Crayola OverWriters Markers

2008 Color Switchers Markers

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