Not an explantion, but I do remember when they first arrived (there was one the year I began high school -- new physics teacher got to set it up how he wanted) and no new ones when I left. I also saw then appear at MIT, again, mainly new construction/renovation.
Chalk boards came in black or green. That name is lost in history, to me. Whiteboards were kind of a shock by comparison -- bright rather than dark -- so it did seem natural. "Marker board" sounds funny now, though it makes sense ("not chalk") but I suppose had it caught on it would be normal. I've only seen "dry erase" used on packages so I assume it's a branding issue.
While the one at my HS was the first one I'd seen (and, seemingly the first any of my classmates had seen, as it was a minor topic of dicussion) I think we'd at least heard of them. This was 1978.
I've never heard of using toothpaste, but one can take off old dry erase or even permanent marker by going over it with fresh dry erase, then erasing normally.
Chalk boards came in black or green. That name is lost in history, to me. Whiteboards were kind of a shock by comparison -- bright rather than dark -- so it did seem natural. "Marker board" sounds funny now, though it makes sense ("not chalk") but I suppose had it caught on it would be normal. I've only seen "dry erase" used on packages so I assume it's a branding issue.
While the one at my HS was the first one I'd seen (and, seemingly the first any of my classmates had seen, as it was a minor topic of dicussion) I think we'd at least heard of them. This was 1978.