The White Cliffs of Dover are made up of fossilized microbes hiding in plain sight. Microbes known as foraminifera have hard skeletons, which are made of calcite. When foraminifera die, the calcite accumulates on places like the ocean floor and builds up over time. Oddly enough some chalk is made up of these fossilized skeletons. Next time I write on a chalkboard I can’t help but think that I’m smearing the remains of foraminiferans over the surface. It’s enough to make me want to switch to expo markers.
