Chalk produce, and thus widely used in the developing world, calcium-based chalk can be made where the crumbling particles are larger and thus produce less dust, and is marketed as "dustless chalk". Colored chalks, pastel chalks, and sidewalk chalk (shaped into larger sticks and often colored), used to draw on sidewalks, streets, and driveways, are primarily made of gypsum. Chalk is a source of quicklime by thermal decomposition, or slaked lime following quenching of quicklime with water. In southeast England, deneholes are a notable example of ancient chalk pits. Such bell pits may also mark the sites of ancient flint mines,
Blackboard to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI), there are links between chalk dust and allergy and asthma problems. The dust also precludes the use of chalk in areas shared with dust-sensitive equipment such as computers. The writing on blackboards is difficult to read in the dark. Chalk sticks shrink through use, and are notorious for breaking in half unless inserted in a writing utensil designed for chalk. The scratching of fingernails on a blackboard, as well as other pointed, especially metal objects against blackboards, produces a sound that is well known for being extremely irritating to most