# So the police use chalk for a dead man on pavement. What about carpet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 4, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-police-use-chalk-for-a-dead-man-on-pavement-what-about-carpet/355435 "2006-05-04T19:34:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JoeSki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b487fb/32.png) [@JoeSki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeSki)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-police-use-chalk-for-a-dead-man-on-pavement-what-about-carpet/355435/1 "2006-05-04T19:34:45Z")
The title says it all really. If I die on a nice, shag carpet in my bedroom, do the police come in and paint around me, or what? Spray chalk of somekind? What is the procedure here? ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-police-use-chalk-for-a-dead-man-on-pavement-what-about-carpet/355435/2 "2006-05-04T19:36:43Z")
You’ve been watching too much TV… they don’t really do that as far as I know. ---
**Author:** ![JoeSki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b487fb/32.png) [@JoeSki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeSki)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-police-use-chalk-for-a-dead-man-on-pavement-what-about-carpet/355435/3 "2006-05-04T19:43:33Z")
No kidding? Huh…what a strange thing to make up. Even stranger for it to catch on and then be used all the time ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-police-use-chalk-for-a-dead-man-on-pavement-what-about-carpet/355435/4 "2006-05-04T19:48:24Z")
I think they do really use chalk, but not the full outline. The police here will fill crime scenes with chalk marks, but they are usually just a tiny ‘x’ or something, and maybe a number. These mark bullet impact points, skid marks, places where evidence was found. Sometimes they use paper (post-it note type things) instead. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-police-use-chalk-for-a-dead-man-on-pavement-what-about-carpet/355435/5 "2006-05-04T19:48:27Z")
Police will certainly tape off the area to avoid evidence contamination and they take lots of pictures of both the scene and victim. Why would they need to make a chalk outline? Who would that be for? ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-police-use-chalk-for-a-dead-man-on-pavement-what-about-carpet/355435/6 "2006-05-04T19:54:20Z")
Yes, real crime scene people take pictures of the body’s position, so there’s no need for chalk, which can actually destroy evidence. However, the same TV shows that insist on using chalk on cement show tape outlines on carpet or other indoor flooring. So, in the TV world, there’s your answer. Though a show like CSI is nothing like authentic, they do seem to get the photo thing right, and most other modern cop shows do as well. I can’t remember the last show that used the apocryphal outline. ---
**Author:** ![gabriela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@gabriela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gabriela)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-police-use-chalk-for-a-dead-man-on-pavement-what-about-carpet/355435/7 "2006-05-04T21:41:02Z")
However, when certain twisted medical examiners’ offices offer mugs and beach towels for sale, that is often the first image they use. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-police-use-chalk-for-a-dead-man-on-pavement-what-about-carpet/355435/8 "2006-05-04T22:17:55Z")
**gabriela** , I read somewhere that Jack Klugman (Quincy) hosted a party which featured women serving drinks in bikinis and toe-tags. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![pmwgreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@pmwgreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pmwgreen)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-police-use-chalk-for-a-dead-man-on-pavement-what-about-carpet/355435/9 "2006-05-04T22:19:11Z")
I can’t imagine why this hasn’t been posted yet… [The master speaks](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010413.html) (i.e. the relevant SD column.) ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-police-use-chalk-for-a-dead-man-on-pavement-what-about-carpet/355435/10 "2006-05-04T22:40:37Z")
I\* really don’t see how a carpet outline of the body on the pavement is supposed to be useful. \*This post is is merely a shameless excuse to once again brag about the fact that a number of years ago, I was very briefly a guest at the home (known as “The Slammer” for its deliberate resemblance to a minimum-security prison) of Penn Gillette, whose kitchen floor features a red outline of Teller (holding a butcher knife) built right into the tile. ---
**Author:** ![gabriela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@gabriela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gabriela)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-police-use-chalk-for-a-dead-man-on-pavement-what-about-carpet/355435/11 "2006-05-05T00:39:26Z")
> [@vetbridge](#): > > **gabriela** , I read somewhere that Jack Klugman (Quincy) hosted a party which featured women serving drinks in bikinis and toe-tags. 😉 Now this is gross. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-police-use-chalk-for-a-dead-man-on-pavement-what-about-carpet/355435/12 "2006-05-05T12:14:59Z")
> [@gabriela](#): > > Now this is gross. Only if there are 144 of them. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-police-use-chalk-for-a-dead-man-on-pavement-what-about-carpet/355435/13 "2006-05-05T12:21:26Z")
> [@Saltire](#): > > Though a show like CSI is nothing like authentic, What!? You mean real investigators don’t walk around with the lab in near darkness and brood sexily at one another? Another myth shattered. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-police-use-chalk-for-a-dead-man-on-pavement-what-about-carpet/355435/14 "2006-05-05T13:27:53Z")
> [@vetbridge](#): > > **gabriela** , I read somewhere that Jack Klugman (Quincy) hosted a party which featured women serving drinks in bikinis and toe-tags. 😉 How do you keep the liquor from dribbling out of the bikini ? OTOH, I’ve spent many a boozy hazy Saturday night alone in my special secret “club house”, watching re-runs of Lassie and sucking Captain Morgan’s Rum from a toe-tag. Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![Jake4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bc8723/32.png) [@Jake4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake4)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-police-use-chalk-for-a-dead-man-on-pavement-what-about-carpet/355435/15 "2006-05-05T18:51:22Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > How do you keep the liquor from dribbling out of the bikini ? The Kegel muscles, of course. ---
**Author:** ![JoeSki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b487fb/32.png) [@JoeSki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeSki)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-police-use-chalk-for-a-dead-man-on-pavement-what-about-carpet/355435/16 "2006-05-08T17:45:25Z")
Thanks for the responses everybody. > [@dolphinboy](#): > > Police will certainly tape off the area to avoid evidence contamination and they take lots of pictures of both the scene and victim. Why would they need to make a chalk outline? Who would that be for? I don’t know…I forgot about modern technology while thinking up this question. But still, a picture could screw with the perspective a person might have in looking at a dead body as opposed to having an actual outline right in front of your eyes. I mean, things do look different in photos sometimes. Oh well. Question answered, myth shattered, ignorance fought. Good job everyone. _cues Final Fantasy victory music_ ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2006, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-police-use-chalk-for-a-dead-man-on-pavement-what-about-carpet/355435/17 "2006-05-08T18:05:16Z")
The late great Rodney Dangerfield once said, “My wife is so bad in bed… after we have sex, I draw a chalk outline around her!” ::rimshot:: ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2006, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-police-use-chalk-for-a-dead-man-on-pavement-what-about-carpet/355435/18 "2006-05-08T18:17:25Z")
I made cookies once for a party that were twisted up gingerbread men with white frosting outlines. I called them Ginger Dead Men. They were a real hit! In real life, the only time I saw a chalk outline was when a rat had crawled out of the wall of the Ambulance Service’s dayroom and died in the middle of the floor. The EMTs on duty thought it might a) be funny and b) point out the need for pest control. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-police-use-chalk-for-a-dead-man-on-pavement-what-about-carpet/355435/19 "2006-05-09T15:24:17Z")
Then again, if needed. Whats stopping them for using tape on carpet? I wonder if other locations can work. Why am I reminded of The Naked Gun? They can even mark off a body on the water. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-police-use-chalk-for-a-dead-man-on-pavement-what-about-carpet/355435/20 "2006-05-09T17:30:51Z")
My best friend has worked in crime units for many years, and I am on the phone with her right now. She says they have never used chalk lines in any of the divisions she has worked in, in several cities. They have diagrams that they mark off to show body position. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-the-police-use-chalk-for-a-dead-man-on-pavement-what-about-carpet/355435.md?page=2)