# Nails across a chalkboard
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-across-a-chalkboard/69249
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [June 18, 2001, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-across-a-chalkboard/69249 "2001-06-18T21:38:15Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2001, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-across-a-chalkboard/69249/1 "2001-06-18T21:38:15Z")
why does the sound (or even the thought) of someone scraping their nails across a chalkboard make me feel so uncomfortable that i want to curl up in the fetal position and die? [note, i’m being hyperbolic people, please just stick to the thread)
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### Author:  [@Piell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Piell)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2001, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-across-a-chalkboard/69249/2 "2001-06-19T00:01:04Z")
I don’t know, but it’s not painful at all to me. It’s a little annoying, sure, but it’s not painful or extremely uncomfortable like you describe.
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### Author:  [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2001, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-across-a-chalkboard/69249/3 "2001-06-19T02:37:59Z")
Last time I read an article on this, I don’t think there was a consensus of opinion why this is so.
I seem to recall that someone did some experiments, and counter-intuitively it was actually the **lower** frequencies in the sound that bothered people.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2001, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nails-across-a-chalkboard/69249/4 "2001-06-19T03:06:18Z")
Y’know, this is now officially weird. I’ve been here a year and a half, now, and never saw this come up. Then, all of a sudden, two threads on it in the same month. The previous thread was [What do fingernails on blackboards do?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=73029), from the sixth of the month, if you want to read up on it.
Heck, that thread is barely below the surface, yet. I’ll just close this one, and if you’re still wondering after reading that one, just go ahead and bump it.