![]() ![]() After the mix liquefies, the quicksand splits into a water-rich phase and a sand-rich one. "The higher the stress, the more liquid the quicksand becomes, so movement by a trapped body causes it to sink in deeply," study leader Daniel Bonn of the University of Amsterdam writes in the Sept. Once perturbed, the mixture transforms from a loose packing of sand on top of water into a dense, liquid soup. Quicksand is a mixture of fine sand, clay and saltwater. while the risk of vanishing has apparently evaporated, escaping the muck is still a tough task. ![]() Fortunately for all of us, the scientists offer tips for getting out: But you're not exactly homefree: To just pull one leg out of quicksand, their study says, it takes the same amount of force needed to lift a car. If you fall into quicksand, instead of being completely consumed by it, you will actually only sink to your waist. ![]() So all of this is to say, I was very relieved to hear the news yesterday that scientists have reported that quicksand is not, in fact, as dangerous as all the movies make it seem. At that point, I suddenly remembered my old quicksand fear and thought, See, that's why I live in New York City. At what felt like hour six in the movie, there's a graphic scene where a young boy dies in quicksand. I'd completely forgotten about this old phobia of mine until a few months ago, when I watched Lawrence of Arabia for the first time in years. But as a kid, it seemed an obvious risk: There were vines hanging from trees, there was sand on the trail, it looked just like the woods in the movies - why wouldn't there be quicksand? Today, I know there was no quicksand in Illinois. I secretly feared walking in the park down the street from my house because of the quicksand. And it all happened so fast: They were just walking along and suddenly, squish, they're up to their waist, chest, neck, then they're gone. They'd flail around screaming as friends threw them sticks, shirts, whatever - desperately trying to pull them out - but nothing ever worked. My brother and I watched a lot of weird 70s jungle shows - and played weird jungle video games - so in my world, people were constantly getting stuck in quicksand. But my biggest phobia for several years - one that kept me up at night - was quicksand. My parents told me they didn't exist in the US, but I looked at a map and convinced myself that they could easily come from South America to my backyard in Illinois. At one point, thanks to Tarzan, I became acutely phobic of killer bees and man-eating-ants. But more than anything, I worried about the impossible: Airplanes falling from the sky and landing on me my brother getting drafted and shipped off to die in battle at age ten. I worried about normal things, like my parents dying. It's fair to say that, growing up, I worried more than your average kid. ![]()
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