Of Quicksand
- A Crazy Little Bird Told Me
- Aug 6, 2023
- 4 min read
Did you know that quicksand can be found pretty much everywhere in the world?
What is a quicksand?
A quicksand is defined as either a loose, water-logged sand or a loose sand (no water necessary) which yields easily to weight or pressure. Quicksand that does not involve water is called dry quicksand.
Let’s start by the latter. It seems its existence was the subject of much debate and doubts historically, and the tales of humans or complete caravans disappearing in it were said to be nothing more than an old wives’ tale. It all changed in 2004, when a dry quicksand was created in a laboratory (you can check the issue 432 of Nature published in 2004 for more information). However, nobody is quite sure of the prevalence of that type of quicksand in nature, as it seems nobody has ever witnessed one. Food for thought, it might be that whoever experienced one didn’t live to tell the tale.
Thankfully though, the cinema industry never waits for science to confirm the existence of one folklore tale or another, and therefore dry quicksand are featured in various movies, such as, recently, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, where Jones and Marion end up stuck in a dry sandpit.
If for some reason you get yourself in this unfortunate situation, I do not recommend using a python to get out though. First you might seriously hurt the snake by snapping its vertebras and secondly python are also excellent biters. Granted, pythons do not carry venom, however they still have razor-sharp recurved teeth on both jaws, which will ensure they hold on nice and tight and pierce your skin quite deeply. So please, find a rope or learn how to get yourself out of quicksand without the help of a python or anaconda, or any sort of big snake!
Now, what about the other type of quicksand?
If I were mean, I could tell you that quicksand is shear thinning non-Newtonian fluid. That sounds really smart, right? Well, I don’t know for you, but this doesn’t explain much to me!
Let’s start by its composition. Interestingly enough, quicksand is not made only of sand, it can also be found with silt or clay. All 3 materials are granular in nature (little grains!), and are made of different components, but each has a different size with some overlapping. Scientists roughly agree that sand is the largest, followed by silt and then clay, and it is not unusual for those particles to mix and match.
Quicksand requires a granular material and water, and for the soil to become saturated, looking solid to the naked eye but turning viscous when pressure is applied. It is a little bit like magic!
More often than not, quicksand are only few feet deep, making them annoying and messy but not necessarily deadly. However, there are such things as deep quicksand, which could technically swallow human beings or bigger animals. The problem is though, you probably won’t know until you are in one, which is never a good option!
If like me, the explanation is not enough to help you visualise, you can do a little experiment at home, to see how a material can change texture based on the pressure you apply to it, by mixing 2 parts corn-starch with 1 part water. I have included a YouTube video at the bottom.
Where can you find quicksand?
In the movies, you always find them in the most exotic locations. I guess, we can agree that the cinema industry is not always an accurate representation of reality. Quicksand can be found pretty much anywhere in the world as long as you have granular material and water. In England this includes the area around the Thames or even gravel quarries for example.
Do you wonder how to get out of quicksand, if you ever inadvertently fall into one?
Well, here are the professionals advice:
#1: don’t step into one!
#2: read the signs near bodies of water so that you don’t fall into one
#4: scream really loud for help
#5: there seems to be different recommendations to get out of quicksand with some constants: spread your weight over a larger area so that the pressure your body applies is lessened (imagine you are trying to make a snow angel!), and wiggle your legs, the aim being to make space so that water converge, making the material around your legs less viscous, and therefore less vacuum like. I added a video in the sources section, which shows it all in great details.
Now I found several articles explaining that a human can’t drown in a quicksand because of the human body buoyancy. I can understand the logic intellectually, but there ain’t no way in hell I will put THAT to the test!
If you are curious about it, I would still refer you to advice #1 and #2 above and remember that curiosity killed the cat!
Sources:
- How to make your own quicksand at home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ndxs_3p3g4I
- How to escape quicksand - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snTNnCPNSUk
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