# Will chalk soon be obsolete? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 11, 2011, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-chalk-soon-be-obsolete/588586 "2011-07-11T03:33:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-chalk-soon-be-obsolete/588586/41 "2011-07-14T02:10:26Z")
> [@Lil\_Ol\_Lady](#): > > How long do chalkboards last? Good ones, basically forever. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-chalk-soon-be-obsolete/588586/42 "2011-07-14T03:45:36Z")
> [@Lil\_Ol\_Lady](#): > > How long do chalkboards last? I have been in some very old classrooms that likely still had the original blackboards. I can’t remember any signs of failing. Perhaps until the building is extensively remodeled, or torn down. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-chalk-soon-be-obsolete/588586/43 "2011-07-14T04:29:08Z")
I’d quit if I ever had to go back to chalkboards. Whiteboards rule! ---
**Author:** ![gatorslap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gatorslap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gatorslap)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-chalk-soon-be-obsolete/588586/44 "2011-07-14T05:48:58Z")
My fourth grade teacher used none of the above – instead, she used the projector for everything. When she was writing things as she was talking, she would use a sharpie on a clear projector sheet. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-chalk-soon-be-obsolete/588586/45 "2011-07-14T06:06:44Z")
> [@gatorslap](#): > > My fourth grade teacher used none of the above – instead, she used the projector for everything. When she was writing things as she was talking, she would use a sharpie on a clear projector sheet. (See post #30) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-chalk-soon-be-obsolete/588586/46 "2011-07-14T12:44:35Z")
> [@gatorslap](#): > > My fourth grade teacher used none of the above – instead, she used the projector for everything. When she was writing things as she was talking, she would use a sharpie on a clear projector sheet. We had a teacher that did everything with projectors too, but it was a nightmare. She’d wheel the projector in and get her notes sorted, the acetates etc, and by the time she got started the class would be half over. ---
**Author:** ![RoniaBorkason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9dc877/32.png) [@RoniaBorkason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RoniaBorkason)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-chalk-soon-be-obsolete/588586/47 "2011-07-14T13:55:22Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I went to college in the late 1980s and my school used overhead projectors in almost every classroom and lecture hall. Each projector was equipped with a roll of transparency film so the lecturer could unroll clean film as needed. Also, the writing surface is about the size of sheet of paper, so it’s comfortable to write on (I think they used grease pencils) and also you’re facing the audience as you write. > > I did wonder what system they had for cleaning all of those rolls of transparency film. I imagined a clerk down in a building somewhere who had a full-time job just collecting the rolls, cleaning and returning them. I was an A/V assistant for one semester my senior year, and my main duty was cleaning those rolls of clear plastic. Our teachers used wet-erase markers, so I would spray them with water wipe off, roll ahead, spray with water, wipe off, roll ahead, etc. Very tedious, but I got to see all sorts of class notes and sometimes odd graffiti and drawings. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-chalk-soon-be-obsolete/588586/48 "2011-07-14T16:17:21Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > We had a teacher that did everything with projectors too, but it was a nightmare. She’d wheel the projector in and get her notes sorted, the acetates etc, and by the time she got started the class would be half over. > [@RoniaBorkason](#): > > I was an A/V assistant for one semester my senior year, and my main duty was cleaning those rolls of clear plastic. Our teachers used wet-erase markers, so I would spray them with water wipe off, roll ahead, spray with water, wipe off, roll ahead, etc. Very tedious, but I got to see all sorts of class notes and sometimes odd graffiti and drawings. You know that none of that is necessary? You can write directly on the glass plate, and just wipe it off with a damp paper towel as you go–exactly as if it were a miniature chalk or white board. You don’t need an “acetate” (it’s a [transparency](http://www.amazon.com/3M-PP2200-Plain-Copier-Transparency/dp/B00004TS5J/ref=cm_lmf_tit_1/182-0068274-0695432)) at all, unless you want to prepare something like a diagram or worksheet in advance. Or if you want to write something during the class/lecture, save it, but quickly take it away, and then quickly re-introduce it to the discussion for later reference. (You can’t do that with either a chalk board or a dry-erase board.) Or, another good use of transparencies is when students are participating in the classroom activity–they can write things on a blank transparency in their seats, and then bring it up to project to the room when it’s ready. That saves a lot of time. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-chalk-soon-be-obsolete/588586/49 "2011-07-14T18:02:40Z")
I guess with a glass plate, you could use any old marker and wipe it clean with solvent. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-chalk-soon-be-obsolete/588586/50 "2011-07-14T18:58:51Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Or if you want to write something during the class/lecture, save it, but quickly take it away, and then quickly re-introduce it to the discussion for later reference. (You can’t do that with either a chalk board or a dry-erase board.) Sure you can. You just unroll one of the maps down to cover that part of the chalkboard. (But then you do have to make sure your class presentation is more interesting than looking at the map!) ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-chalk-soon-be-obsolete/588586/51 "2011-07-14T19:15:43Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > Or if you want to write something during the class/lecture, save it, but quickly take it away, and then quickly re-introduce it to the discussion for later reference. (You can’t do that with either a chalk board or a dry-erase board.) there are three deep and four across chalk boards (on rollers or slides) for that purpose. even then math teachers would write with the right hand and erase with the left hand just to help you keep pace with your notes. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-chalk-soon-be-obsolete/588586/52 "2011-07-14T19:58:18Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Sure you can. You just unroll one of the maps down to cover that part of the chalkboard. > (But then you do have to make sure your class presentation is more interesting than looking at the map!) I’ve done that, but I had to reverse the map (to have the white side facing out), and when I turned it back around the springy thing inside went crazy and the map wouldn’t roll back up. ---
**Author:** ![bahia\_hombre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@bahia\_hombre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bahia_hombre)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-chalk-soon-be-obsolete/588586/53 "2011-07-15T03:10:30Z")
I like when cafes have their menus artistically drawn in colored chalk on blackboard. That’s an application I hope sticks around. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-chalk-soon-be-obsolete/588586/54 "2011-07-15T11:06:34Z")
Occasionally I’ll have urges to eat some strange things, chalk being one of them. Chalk does not taste good, just so ya’ll know. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-chalk-soon-be-obsolete/588586/55 "2011-07-15T11:25:01Z")
[Pica](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pica_%28disorder%29) much? ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-chalk-soon-be-obsolete/588586/56 "2011-07-15T11:30:35Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > And as far as I know, it is a limited natural resource which must be extracted from the environment. There’s plenty of gypsum it’s one of the most widely available minerals in the world, it’s main use (75% of gypsum) is to make plaster. It’s also used in a wide variety of other products I would guess that making blackboard chalk only constitutes a tiny percentage of yearly gypsum use ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-chalk-soon-be-obsolete/588586/57 "2011-07-15T11:38:31Z")
in an auditorium-sized classroom with more than 70 listeners, a math or physics professor might prefer using chalk. and during a 2-hour lecture, he might have gone end-to-end of a 20-foot board, erase it end-to-end, and fill it up again. you’ll see how tired your hands will be if instead you use a marker pen and try to erase it all by applying mild pressure on the board (it think the brain wants to clean a white surface more thoroughly.) my geology professor doesn’t want any slate board shorter than 10 feet. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-chalk-soon-be-obsolete/588586/58 "2011-07-15T17:57:48Z")
Quoth **monstro** : > [@](#): > > Occasionally I’ll have urges to eat some strange things, chalk being one of them. Chalk does not taste good, just so ya’ll know. The next time the urge hits you, try Tums (or generic equivalent) instead. They taste better, and are easier to chew, but it’s basically the same stuff. And **mac\_bolan00** , I find that whiteboards require less pressure than chalkboards, both for the writing and the erasing. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-chalk-soon-be-obsolete/588586/59 "2011-07-16T00:43:05Z")
Chalk seems to be doing quite well in the hands of artists. Take a gander at these [stunning sidewalk chalk drawings](http://dalesdesigns.net/Beever.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-chalk-soon-be-obsolete/588586/60 "2011-07-16T19:42:52Z")
I’ve seen plenty of photos of those drawings online, but I’m not really sure they’d work in person. The views you see online depend on very precise camera placement, and binocular vision would probably be enough to throw them off. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-chalk-soon-be-obsolete/588586.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-chalk-soon-be-obsolete/588586.md?page=4)