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Side point: can I suggest we all throw away whiteboard markers that don't work any more? In my experience, people will just place them back in the tray and keep

Side point: can I suggest we all throw away whiteboard markers that don't work any more? In my experience, people will just place them back in the tray and keep trying other markers until they find one that works. There is probably someone whose job it is to replace markers, but they would just replace missing ones rather than try every single one to see if they still work. So throwing away dead markers speeds up the process. Or use refillable markers, of course.

Bromskloss 9y ago
Got it. Whenever we come across a dead marker, we throw the board away and get a blackboard instead! About that, could we have a similar article on blackboards and chalk? All I know is that there was much ado [0,1,2] about a certain Japanese manufacturer shutting down a couple of years ago. They, allegedly, made the best chalk and prices on the secondary market rose high after the news came out. [0] https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/3a05u3/why_mathematicians_are_hoarding_this_special_type/ https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/3a05u3/why_mathematic... [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/3axqxe/hagoromo_president_explains_why_he_closed_down/ https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/3axqxe/hagoromo_presi... [2] https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/3rciv0/an_update_on_where_to_buy_highquality_chalk/ https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/3rciv0/an_update_on_w...
- NegativeLatency 9y ago
  Also the new chalk that makes dust that is safer to breathe doesn't write as well as the older kind that is bad for your lungs. Very similar to leaded/unleaded solder.
  - jacobolus 9y ago
    Leaded solder is actually generally better for your health (just don’t eat it). The unleaded stuff has really nasty flux, and requires much higher temperatures, meaning the fumes are quite a bit worse. Make sure you have very good ventilation when working with unleaded solder.
    - analog31 9y ago
      Completely as an aside to the thread, if you're doing this a lot, try Kester K100 alloy, which is much lower melting than the first generation Pb-free, and behaves a lot more nicely. Not like genuine PbSn, but closer. Techni-Tool has spools of it in different diameters.
- algeom 9y ago
  I bought a 20 year supply of that chalk when the demise of Hagoromo was announced, but it turns out that production of that particular product was turned over to a Korean company. I’m still using my legacy supply, so I can’t comment first-hand on old/new comparisons, but I haven’t heard any complaints.
  - Kluny 9y ago
    How much is a 20 year supply?
- amluto 9y ago
  I used to have the pleasure of working in an office with genuine slate blackboards. They were very pleasant to write on (the chalk seemed to need less pressure to make a nice line and they always cleaned up perfectly), but using them was rather dusty.
  - Bromskloss 9y ago
    Is that a board made of a single piece of slate? How large can those be made?
    - bikenaga 9y ago
      The largest boards in our building look like they're around 5' x 8-10'.
- adrianN 9y ago
  I found this video very interesting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCroFiwllH8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCroFiwllH8
Terr_ 9y ago
"Woo hoo-hoo, looks who knows so much, huh? Well, it just so happens that your marker here is only mostly-dead. There's a big difference between mostly-dead and all-dead." "Now, mostly-dead, it's slightly useful. Now, all-dead... well, with all-dead, there's usually only one thing you can do: Join them all together to create a modular lightsaber." --- I think all-dead markers aren't a big problem, what you have to watch out for are teh mostly-dead ones, which tend to stick around "just in case the good one isn't available."
sanbor 9y ago
In the Expo FAQ [1] they suggest to try to bring it back to life by putting the cap back and leaving it vertically positioned, tip down for 24 hours. If it get back to life store it horizontally. [1] http://www.expomarkers.com/faq.html http://www.expomarkers.com/faq.html
jdblair 9y ago
JDB's Whiteboard Marker Org Health Metric: The ratio of dead whiteboard markers to working whiteboard markers at an organization is proportional to the health of the workplace culture. Lots of dried out markers signal a workplace culture where people are too lazy to throw the markers out and replace them or where working markers are not available (possible money issues).
- jdblair 9y ago
  Corollary: if you are interviewing for a job and there are lots of dried out markers you may not want to work at the company.
  - kinkrtyavimoodh 9y ago
    Great, because the whole hiring process needed another voodoo variable.
- dfee 9y ago
  This is a neat idea. I tried to Google it to get the full thesis, but it turned up nothing. I then realized you were quoting yourself in the third person. This could also be a good test for interviewers: do they toss the dead whiteboard marker in the trash, or put it back in the bin. Though, that could also correlate with self-confidence.
- QAPereo 9y ago
  Sort of a modified “dirty bathroom” principle for restaurants.
- JBlue42 9y ago
  I wonder if that correlates with my theory on companies that buy cheap/thin toilet paper and their treatment of employees.
jcrawfordor 9y ago
I'm very aggressive about discarding any dead whiteboard marker we have at work. We have plenty of money to buy replacement markers, and indeed the copy room has several boxes of them sitting there already. So if a marker is starting to die it goes right in the trash. It's funny the reaction this gets. Some people seem almost offended that I would destroy office property or something like that. Look, non-refillable markers of the type we use (Expo) are an expendable item. Keeping bad ones around just produces irritation for everyone down the line.
- mcphage 9y ago
  I make it a point to deliberately throw dead/dying markers into the corner when I come across them... otherwise they stay in circulation and annoy everyone constantly.
- xaedes 9y ago
  In my experience the others just are relieved that someone puts an end to the miserable writing they are getting used to over time, especially when seeing the new fresh, thick, vibrant lines!
xaedes 9y ago
Whenever I find a poorly writing marker somewhere I just throw it away (and replace it with one of the extra spares I keep for these cases). Everybody is always just relieved and happy with that - no complaints.

Bromskloss 9y ago

Got it. Whenever we come across a dead marker, we throw the board away and get a blackboard instead! About that, could we have a similar article on blackboards and chalk? All I know is that there was much ado [0,1,2] about a certain Japanese manufacturer shutting down a couple of years ago. They, allegedly, made the best chalk and prices on the secondary market rose high after the news came out. [0] https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/3a05u3/why_mathematicians_are_hoarding_this_special_type/ https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/3a05u3/why_mathematic... [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/3axqxe/hagoromo_president_explains_why_he_closed_down/ https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/3axqxe/hagoromo_presi... [2] https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/3rciv0/an_update_on_where_to_buy_highquality_chalk/ https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/3rciv0/an_update_on_w...

NegativeLatency 9y ago
Also the new chalk that makes dust that is safer to breathe doesn't write as well as the older kind that is bad for your lungs. Very similar to leaded/unleaded solder.
- jacobolus 9y ago
  Leaded solder is actually generally better for your health (just don’t eat it). The unleaded stuff has really nasty flux, and requires much higher temperatures, meaning the fumes are quite a bit worse. Make sure you have very good ventilation when working with unleaded solder.
  - analog31 9y ago
    Completely as an aside to the thread, if you're doing this a lot, try Kester K100 alloy, which is much lower melting than the first generation Pb-free, and behaves a lot more nicely. Not like genuine PbSn, but closer. Techni-Tool has spools of it in different diameters.
algeom 9y ago
I bought a 20 year supply of that chalk when the demise of Hagoromo was announced, but it turns out that production of that particular product was turned over to a Korean company. I’m still using my legacy supply, so I can’t comment first-hand on old/new comparisons, but I haven’t heard any complaints.
- Kluny 9y ago
  How much is a 20 year supply?
amluto 9y ago
I used to have the pleasure of working in an office with genuine slate blackboards. They were very pleasant to write on (the chalk seemed to need less pressure to make a nice line and they always cleaned up perfectly), but using them was rather dusty.
- Bromskloss 9y ago
  Is that a board made of a single piece of slate? How large can those be made?
  - bikenaga 9y ago
    The largest boards in our building look like they're around 5' x 8-10'.
adrianN 9y ago
I found this video very interesting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCroFiwllH8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCroFiwllH8

Terr_ 9y ago

"Woo hoo-hoo, looks who knows so much, huh? Well, it just so happens that your marker here is only mostly-dead. There's a big difference between mostly-dead and all-dead." "Now, mostly-dead, it's slightly useful. Now, all-dead... well, with all-dead, there's usually only one thing you can do: Join them all together to create a modular lightsaber." --- I think all-dead markers aren't a big problem, what you have to watch out for are teh mostly-dead ones, which tend to stick around "just in case the good one isn't available."

sanbor 9y ago

In the Expo FAQ [1] they suggest to try to bring it back to life by putting the cap back and leaving it vertically positioned, tip down for 24 hours. If it get back to life store it horizontally. [1] http://www.expomarkers.com/faq.html http://www.expomarkers.com/faq.html

jdblair 9y ago

JDB's Whiteboard Marker Org Health Metric: The ratio of dead whiteboard markers to working whiteboard markers at an organization is proportional to the health of the workplace culture. Lots of dried out markers signal a workplace culture where people are too lazy to throw the markers out and replace them or where working markers are not available (possible money issues).

jdblair 9y ago
Corollary: if you are interviewing for a job and there are lots of dried out markers you may not want to work at the company.
- kinkrtyavimoodh 9y ago
  Great, because the whole hiring process needed another voodoo variable.
dfee 9y ago
This is a neat idea. I tried to Google it to get the full thesis, but it turned up nothing. I then realized you were quoting yourself in the third person. This could also be a good test for interviewers: do they toss the dead whiteboard marker in the trash, or put it back in the bin. Though, that could also correlate with self-confidence.
QAPereo 9y ago
Sort of a modified “dirty bathroom” principle for restaurants.
JBlue42 9y ago
I wonder if that correlates with my theory on companies that buy cheap/thin toilet paper and their treatment of employees.

jcrawfordor 9y ago

I'm very aggressive about discarding any dead whiteboard marker we have at work. We have plenty of money to buy replacement markers, and indeed the copy room has several boxes of them sitting there already. So if a marker is starting to die it goes right in the trash. It's funny the reaction this gets. Some people seem almost offended that I would destroy office property or something like that. Look, non-refillable markers of the type we use (Expo) are an expendable item. Keeping bad ones around just produces irritation for everyone down the line.

mcphage 9y ago
I make it a point to deliberately throw dead/dying markers into the corner when I come across them... otherwise they stay in circulation and annoy everyone constantly.
xaedes 9y ago
In my experience the others just are relieved that someone puts an end to the miserable writing they are getting used to over time, especially when seeing the new fresh, thick, vibrant lines!

xaedes 9y ago

Whenever I find a poorly writing marker somewhere I just throw it away (and replace it with one of the extra spares I keep for these cases). Everybody is always just relieved and happy with that - no complaints.