#quicksand — Public Fediverse posts

well.... that's awkward

#quicksand #snoopy #pixelart #pixel_dailies @pixel_dailies

Pixel dailies: Quicksand
#pixelart #pixel_dailies #Quicksand #ドット絵 #aseprite #Procreate @pixel_dailies

Pixel dailies: Quicksand
#pixelart #pixel_dailies #Quicksand #ドット絵 #aseprite #Procreate @pixel_dailies

https://www.europesays.com/be-nl/87262/ Graspop Metal Meeting 2026 (Festivaldag 2): Knocked out! #Amusement #BE #België #Belgium #BreakingBenjamin #Elder #Entertainment #GMM #Graspop #GraspopMetalMeeting #GraspopMetalMeeting2026 #GuiltTrip #KnockedLoose #KublaiKhanTX #Letlive #Music #Muziek #Quicksand #Thornhill #Trivium #Vower #WeCameAsRomans

Some fun fanart mermaid this round with ariel and peach stuck in some sort of situation! They better find a way to swim out of the muck!

https://subscribestar.adult/pyperhaylie
#bondage #Oc #mermaid #ariel #peach #bowser #quickpaint #qs #quicksand

This cute little Yordle was following her map as carefully as she could and yet she had somehow managed to get herself lost! She was now tits deep into the muck, too bad she couldn't read the very clear signs around the quicksand area of the forest, or her map for that matter xDD 
#qs #quicksand #muddy #sticky #sinking #stuck #stuckfetish #quicksandfetish #qsfetish #art #arttag

https://pyperhaylie.carrd.co/

https://www.fogolf.com/1095943/news-results-from-around-gisborne-and-east-coast-golf-clubs-9/ News, results from around Gisborne and East Coast golf clubs #and #around #awapuni #bunker #clubs #Coast #during #EAST #feeling #FINAL #from #Gisborne #Glass #Golf #GolfClubs #Hollis #kevin #Kind #links #news #Players #quicksand #results #sand #Several #Shootout #Sinking #suffered #Sunday #that #theres #women's

Magician assistant Julie had horrible luck. The last time she practiced in the disappearing box she had been wrapped up by a magical spider, this time she was sinking in the sand left in the box! 

Wait... she was SINKING in the box?? It wasn't even that deep, how was she sinking so far into it??
https://pyperhaylie.carrd.co/
#qs #quicksand #muddy #sticky #sinking #stuck #stuckfetish #quicksandfetish #julie

Wednesday! If #Fleshwater aren't reminiscent of the #90s and #alternative / #hardcore classics like #Quicksand, #Jawbox or #Helmet, then I don't know what is. Successful, I would say. #music #posthardcore #jetpack youtu.be/4ED3DmH5u6Y

Fleshwater - Jetpack (Official...

I enjoy those moments, sitting in the living room listening to some music I love. Today it’s «Interiors» by Quicksand.

#musicLover #VinylLover #Quicksand #PostHardcore #vinyl

Tonguecutter – Minnow Review

By Dolphin Whisperer

Are the ’90s played out yet? If you ask the metal world,1 or rather, the metal-leaning world of -cored and rocky sounds, we’re just getting started in the retro movement of three-decades past explorations. From the dreamy prog-leaning radioscapes of Lizzard to The Jesus Lizard-drenched grinding lurch of Full of Hell to the nostalgic Deftones-alt-castings of Bleed, the ’90s finds itself emblazoned in cut-n-scanned posters across guitar-led machinations in our current age. In a guise more Hole-y and riot grrrl, Michigan’s Tonguecutter wears close that AmRep, early Melvins, Unsane-y aesthetic with their quick-n-dirty debut Minnow. But is Minnow enough in the pond of competition growing deeper by the day?

With short-form, snakey Quicksand grooves and a ‘tude set to Courtney Love covering Facelift,2 Tonguecutter certainly thinks their debut splash serves more than just an upstart homage. Though not quite the polyrhythmic doom-lurch of Confessor or the demented grunge-sludge of Acid Bath, Minnow stirs in waters informed by the same ideas of stuttering low-end grooves and sassy, alt-coded diatribes. With punky odes to bodily autonomy (“Big Ol’ Tree”) and tongue-out anthems to perseverance (“Do You Play Leads, “Bitch Ass Energy”), it’s clear that Tonguecutter prizes the clarity of a sneering message over a technically indulgent plot. And though a little time signature trickery adds a jaunty bounce to many a number, Minnow never feels caught in the weeds of calculus-minded sleights of riff.

However, Tonguecutter holds tight the importance of narrative without searching for diversity in play, ringing stale in a tale as old as punk. For most of the intros, at least, Tonguecutter finds a strong enough footing to churn a wanting pit, with fervent d-beat runs (“Dust Collector,” “Big Ol’ Tree”) and bellowing floor tom struts (“Do You Play Leads,” “Antipode”) following a hefty bass pulse to curled and cawing choruses. But in many scenarios, these repetition-anchored refrains die on the vine of a bridge that does little to flip the riff in an interesting way. Neither embracing the brutality of a hardcore breakdown nor wankery of a metallic shredfest,3 just about every track comes to a tepid—if fun in spirit—cross of the finish that leaves Minnow feeling brief in an unfulfilling manner.

In part, and with some success, Tonguecutter does look to create a rich tonal tapestry to accentuate their low-frills attack. In sludgey and noisy waters, like those you might hear in a driving Thou or swinging Couch Slut piece, leaning on amp booming or mic frying tone hammers sits integral to the music’s intensity. Minnow may not stir quite in that stream, humming about more of a Petrol Girls lean fighting aura, but a rattling bass (“Urgency,” “Do You Play Leads) and a bluesy guitar crush (“Bitch Ass Energy,” “Yarn Horse”) take center stage alongside Chantal Roeske’s defiant tirades at the album’s finest bursts. Again, though, an adherence to the simple groove of each number keeps any one track from escaping the “now playing” screen into my wanting memory. Well, except for the guest flute solo on “RATAP,” anyway—you can take the boy out of prog but not the prog out of the boy.4

When I encounter acts like Tonguecutter, acts who promise brutal brevity and math-timed malediction, I hope to be tossed around with frightening and enlightening precision. The world can be a deeply frustrating place, and I want to get close to feeling the passion stowed away in vocalist Roeske’s pen—this gal’s got heart and riffs. Yet, Minnow, for as exacting as its efforts ring, skirts around these mission statements with a timid toeing about their extreme nature. And while it’s true that Tonguecutter hasn’t set out to become a new darling of dissobros lurking about the niche realms of inaccessible metal strongholds, whatever comes after Minnow will have to swim a little bigger with abrasiveness or catchiness to find where it does belong in the modern scene.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Learning Curve Records
Websites: tonguecutter.com | tonguecutter.bandcamp.com
Releases Worldwide: May 8th, 2025

#25 #2025 #AliceInChains #AlternativeRock #AmericanMetal #CouchSlut #Hardcore #Hole #LearningCurveRecords #May25 #Melvins #Minnow #NoiseRock #PetrolGirls #Punk #Quicksand #Review #Reviews #SludgeMetal #Tonguecutter #Unsane

#Sayit! Sergio Vega and his wife founded the new band #Strict. I wouldn't describe their #music as #Hardcore or #PostHardcore, but the first song bangs! #Quicksand #industrial #Deftones youtu.be/w7_YI15qw-s?...

Say It (Official Music Video)

A close up of Kevin Shields' guitar, exclusive Dinosaur Jr video and more in this week's issue of the Fire Red Sky newsletter.

https://open.substack.com/pub/tangleofwires/p/just-like-heaven

#music #AltRock #dinosaurjr #JMascis #LouBarlow #Murph #KevinShields #MyBloodyValentine #MBV #WhereYouBeen #Pixies #WhenWeWereYoung #quicksand #NOFX #substack #newsletter #MusicNewsletter

A close up of Kevin Shields' guitar, exclusive Dinosaur Jr video and more in this week's issue of the Fire Red Sky newsletter.

https://open.substack.com/pub/tangleofwires/p/just-like-heaven

#music #AltRock #dinosaurjr #JMascis #LouBarlow #Murph #KevinShields #MyBloodyValentine #MBV #WhereYouBeen #Pixies #WhenWeWereYoung #quicksand #NOFX #substack #newsletter #MusicNewsletter

Trapped in Quicksand

Once upon a time, adventurers into unknown lands feared quicksand – a deadly hazard that looked like a sand patch or a harmless puddle. Step in the wrong place, the natives warned, and you would die. This sudden peril became a very useful device in TV and movies from the 1950s to the 90s, and a metaphor for the U.S. war in Vietnam. It’s an old-fashioned trope now but quicksand is a real thing. A curious situation created through soil dynamics makes for some spooky geology.

Updated version. Originally published June, 17, 2023.

Quicksand, as a distinct thing and a metaphor for sinking deeper as you try to escape, was once popular in TV, movies, comic books, and adventure stories. It even became a fetish. In the 1960s, the concept of quicksand was invoked frequently whenever people went into unknown areas. It was characterized by immobilization and eventual death. Struggle was futile. The unfortunate victim was sucked down gradually into the goo until only an outstretched hand, and then, finally, a hat, was all that remained floating on the surface.

The quicksand was said to be bottomless.

All of that is untrue. Yet, quicksand is not wholly fiction. It can be a danger today, particularly to animals or people who can’t get out of the trap before a tide rushes in. Let’s unpack this geological hazard.

What is it?

Classic quicksand is a mix of sand and water that looks and acts like a solid but destabilizes and collapses when stress is applied.

Areas of silt and clay can also appear as a stable surface that collapses. There is also dry quicksand – a mix of air and sand – that will not hold weight. You might hear that some unsuspecting traveler through the desert (or fire swamp) will sink into a man-eating natural hourglass, but this is entirely mythical.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8Fsyld7YD0

Sediment + water

Think about how you moisten sand at the beach to build up a sand castle. A moderate amount of water and sand results in packed grains that are held fairly tightly together and can sustain weight. Additional water reduces friction, the particles separate and the mixture flows. The sand may look stable and can hold light weight but a force such as a foot bearing down disrupts the balance. The sand suddenly loses stability and collapses.

Vibration, such as from an earthquake, can trigger a complex process called liquefaction. Buildings constructed on wet ground can collapse during the shaking when the shear strength is suddenly reduced and the particles flow past each other. The land liquifies.

Natural areas of quicksand can be found where there is upward flowing water, like at the outflow of spring, or near rivers or on beaches where water is present just below the surface.

Silty areas can more easily liquify than sand. Clay deposits can exhibit thixotropic behavior and lose their shear strength suddenly due to vibration. (Add water to corn starch while slowly stirring to make it just liquid. Then let it rest. Is this a liquid or a solid? It’s a thixotropic solution.)

The higher the stress applied to the material, the more liquid it becomes. Therefore, thrashing around will indeed cause you to sink and become more engulfed.

Myths

“Quick” suggests the sand comes to life but, instead, it gives way. “Quick” refers to how easily the sand changes character from solid to liquid. As mentioned, quicksand pits are not bottomless. They are typically not even very deep. No scary creatures live in the sand to consume you.

Quicksand doesn’t suck you down, but you sink into as you would in any liquid. It is always denser than water alone. The high viscosity of the saturated sand creates resistance and suction. You are almost guaranteed to lose your shoes during a quicksand escape if they aren’t laced tight.

In 2005, researchers published in Nature how they simulated natural quicksand from a location in Iran using sand, clay, and saltwater. The results of the experiment made news headlines. We were assured that quicksand is real, but you can’t sink in more than halfway.

Locations

Areas of quicksand or dangerously sticky mud or clay are found around the world near sources of water. They can be a fairly permanent feature or appear in response to wet conditions. They can even move locations from one day to the next.

Locally known as “jelly sands”, areas of quicksand occur around the Santa Ana River in California, posing a threat to horses who step onto damp sand only to sink in. Horses may panic and become exhausted trying to escape. It can take special equipment to pull them out.

In 2019, two horses had to be rescued from Merthyr Mawr beach in Glamorgan, South Wales after they sunk into quicksand. A similar event in 2012 in Geelong, Australia required the horse to be sedated to get him out before the tide came in.

The Broomway path in the UK is a well-known hazard in Southend-on-Sea, England along the edge of the aptly named Foulness Island. Accessible only during low tide, the trail has claimed some who have gotten stuck in the quicksand and could not escape before the tide returned “faster than a man could run”. The so-called Black Grounds along the land’s edge consist of jelly-like mud.

In 2014, a 78-year-old woman who frequently hiked alone in Arches National Park, Utah without issue became stuck in quicksand for 14 hours before rescuers helped free her. As with other areas, it was difficult to tell the ground was unstable until you stepped in it.

And, again, in Arches, in early December 2025, a hiker on the Hayduke Trail walked over a sandy area with about an inch of water. He sank in to his ankle. The more he tried to pull free, the deeper his leg was trapped. He said about the experience: “It felt like I had stepped into concrete, and then it hardened around my leg. I couldn’t even move it a millimeter.” The threat here was freezing temperatures. Luckily, he was able to send an SOS on his GPS device and was rescued.

How to escape

If you discover you are rapidly sinking up to your waist, toss off any extra backpacks and attempt to redistribute your weight by lying back.

Selectively increasing the stress is the key to escape. Stopping can cause the viscosity of the material to increase (like when you stop stirring the corn starch). When you try pulling your leg out of the semi-liquid, you are working against a vacuum left behind. Instead, move a little back and forth to create a space for water to move into. This will loosen the material around your limbs. Don’t panic and move slowly and deliberately towards safe ground. Many people can extract themselves relatively easily, provided they can get leverage and move their legs/feet slowly and pull out. Most importantly, don’t hike alone and be aware of hazards in silty, wet places. Don’t fear the quicksand, just respect it.

https://youtu.be/oudz7EDe9Ew

References

Bakalar, N. (2005). Quicksand science: Why it Traps and How to Escape. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/9/quicksand-science-why-it-traps-how-to-escape/

Engber, D. (2010). Terra Infirma: The rise and fall of quicksand. Slate. http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2010/08/terra_infirma.html

Khamsi, R. (2005). Quicksand can’t suck you under. Nature.
https://www.nature.com/articles/news050926-9

Video blog

https://youtu.be/brw84JdPJWs

#Broomway #geologicHazard #jellySands #movies #popCulture #quicksand

https://sharonahill.com/?p=1414

Trapped in Quicksand

Once upon a time, adventurers into unknown lands feared quicksand – a deadly hazard that looked like a sand patch or a harmless puddle. Step in the wrong place, the natives warned, and you would die. This sudden peril became a very useful device in TV and movies from the 1950s to the 90s, and a metaphor for the U.S. war in Vietnam. It’s an old-fashioned trope now but quicksand is a real thing. A curious situation created through soil dynamics makes for some spooky geology.

Quicksand, as a distinct thing and a metaphor for sinking deeper as you try to escape, was once popular in TV, movies, comic books, and adventure stories. It even became a fetish. In the 1960s, the concept of quicksand was invoked frequently whenever people went into unknown areas. It was characterized by immobilization and eventual death. Struggle was futile. The unfortunate victim was sucked down gradually into the goo until only an outstretched hand, and then, finally, a hat, was all that remained floating on the surface.

The quicksand was said to be bottomless.

All of that is untrue. Yet, quicksand is not wholly fiction. It can be a danger today, particularly to animals or people who can’t get out of the trap before a tide rushes in. Let’s unpack this geological hazard.

What is it?

Classic quicksand is a mix of sand and water that looks and acts like a solid but destabilizes and collapses when stress is applied.

Areas of silt and clay can also appear as a stable surface that collapses. There is also dry quicksand – a mix of air and sand – that will not hold weight. You might hear that some unsuspecting traveler through the desert (or fire swamp) will sink into a man-eating natural hourglass, but this is entirely mythical.

Sediment + water

Think about how you moisten sand at the beach to build up a sand castle. A moderate amount of water and sand results in packed grains that are held fairly tightly together and can sustain weight. Additional water reduces friction, the particles separate and the mixture flows. The sand may look stable and can hold light weight but a force such as a foot bearing down disrupts the balance. The sand suddenly loses stability and collapses.

Vibration, such as from an earthquake, can trigger a complex process called liquefaction. Buildings constructed on wet ground can collapse during the shaking when the shear strength is suddenly reduced and the particles flow past each other. The land liquifies.

Natural areas of quicksand can be found where there is upward flowing water, like at the outflow of spring, or near rivers or on beaches where water is present just below the surface.

Silty areas can more easily liquify than sand. Clay deposits can exhibit thixotropic behavior and lose their shear strength suddenly due to vibration. (Add water to corn starch while slowly stirring to make it just liquid. Then let it rest. Is this a liquid or a solid? It’s a thixotropic solution.)

The higher the stress applied to the material, the more liquid it becomes. Therefore, thrashing around will indeed cause you to sink and become more engulfed.

Myths

“Quick” suggests the sand comes to life but instead it gives way. “Quick” refers to how easily the sand changes character from solid to liquid. As mentioned, quicksand pits are not bottomless. They are typically not even very deep. No scary creatures live in the sand to consume you.

Quicksand doesn’t suck you down, but you sink into as you would in any liquid. It is always more dense than water alone. The high viscosity of the saturated sand creates resistance and suction. You are almost guaranteed to lose your shoes during a quicksand escape if they aren’t laced tight.

In 2005, researchers published in Nature how they simulated natural quicksand from a location in Iran using sand, clay, and saltwater. The results of the experiment made news headlines. We were assured that quicksand is real but you can’t sink in more than halfway.

Locations

Areas of quicksand or dangerously sticky mud or clay are found around the world near sources of water. They can be a fairly permanent feature or appear in response to wet conditions. They can even move locations from one day to the next.

Locally known as “jelly sands”, areas of quicksand occur around the Santa Ana River in California, posing a threat to horses who step onto damp sand only to sink in. Horses may panic and become exhausted trying to escape. It can take special equipment to pull them out.

In 2019, two horses had to be rescued from Merthyr Mawr beach in Glamorgan, South Wales after they sunk into quicksand. A similar event in 2012 in Geelong, Australia required the horse to be sedated to get him out before the tide came in.

In 2014, a 78-year-old woman who frequently hiked alone in Arches National Park, Washington without issue became stuck in quicksand for 14 hours before rescuers helped free her. As with other areas, it was difficult to tell what ground was unstable until you stepped in it.

The Broomway path in the UK is a well-known hazard in Southend-on-Sea, England along the edge of the aptly named Foulness Island. Accessible only during low tide, the trail has claimed some who have gotten stuck in the quicksand and could not escape before the tide returned “faster than a man could run”. The so-called Black Grounds along the land’s edge consist of jelly-like mud.

How to escape

If you discover you are rapidly sinking up to your waist, toss off any extra backpacks and attempt to redistribute your weight by lying back.

Selectively increasing the stress is the key to escape. Stopping can cause the viscosity of the material to increase (like when you stop stirring the corn starch). When you try pulling your leg out of the semi-liquid, you are working against a vacuum left behind. Instead, move a little back and forth to create a space for water to move into. This will loosen the material around your limbs. Don’t panic and move slowly and deliberately towards safe ground. Many people can extract themselves relatively easily provided they can get leverage and move their legs/feet slowly and pull out. Most importantly, don’t hike alone and be aware of hazards in silty wet places. Don’t fear the quicksand, just respect it.

References

Bakalar, N. (2005). Quicksand science: Why it Traps and How to Escape. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/9/quicksand-science-why-it-traps-how-to-escape/

Engber, D. (2010). Terra Infirma: The rise and fall of quicksand. Slate. http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2010/08/terra_infirma.html

Khamsi, R. (2005). Quicksand can’t suck you under. Nature.
https://www.nature.com/articles/news050926-9

Video blog

#Broomway #geologicHazard #jellySands #movies #popCulture #quicksand

https://sharonahill.com/?p=1414

Trapped in Quicksand

Once upon a time, adventurers into unknown lands feared quicksand – a deadly hazard that looked like a sand patch or a harmless puddle. Step in the wrong place, the natives warned, and you would die. This sudden peril became a very useful device in TV and movies from the 1950s to the 90s, and a metaphor for the U.S. war in Vietnam. It’s an old-fashioned trope now but quicksand is a real thing. A curious situation created through soil dynamics makes for some spooky geology.

Updated version. Originally published June, 17, 2023.

Quicksand, as a distinct thing and a metaphor for sinking deeper as you try to escape, was once popular in TV, movies, comic books, and adventure stories. It even became a fetish. In the 1960s, the concept of quicksand was invoked frequently whenever people went into unknown areas. It was characterized by immobilization and eventual death. Struggle was futile. The unfortunate victim was sucked down gradually into the goo until only an outstretched hand, and then, finally, a hat, was all that remained floating on the surface.

The quicksand was said to be bottomless.

All of that is untrue. Yet, quicksand is not wholly fiction. It can be a danger today, particularly to animals or people who can’t get out of the trap before a tide rushes in. Let’s unpack this geological hazard.

What is it?

Classic quicksand is a mix of sand and water that looks and acts like a solid but destabilizes and collapses when stress is applied.

Areas of silt and clay can also appear as a stable surface that collapses. There is also dry quicksand – a mix of air and sand – that will not hold weight. You might hear that some unsuspecting traveler through the desert (or fire swamp) will sink into a man-eating natural hourglass, but this is entirely mythical.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8Fsyld7YD0

Sediment + water

Think about how you moisten sand at the beach to build up a sand castle. A moderate amount of water and sand results in packed grains that are held fairly tightly together and can sustain weight. Additional water reduces friction, the particles separate and the mixture flows. The sand may look stable and can hold light weight but a force such as a foot bearing down disrupts the balance. The sand suddenly loses stability and collapses.

Vibration, such as from an earthquake, can trigger a complex process called liquefaction. Buildings constructed on wet ground can collapse during the shaking when the shear strength is suddenly reduced and the particles flow past each other. The land liquifies.

Natural areas of quicksand can be found where there is upward flowing water, like at the outflow of spring, or near rivers or on beaches where water is present just below the surface.

Silty areas can more easily liquify than sand. Clay deposits can exhibit thixotropic behavior and lose their shear strength suddenly due to vibration. (Add water to corn starch while slowly stirring to make it just liquid. Then let it rest. Is this a liquid or a solid? It’s a thixotropic solution.)

The higher the stress applied to the material, the more liquid it becomes. Therefore, thrashing around will indeed cause you to sink and become more engulfed.

Myths

“Quick” suggests the sand comes to life but, instead, it gives way. “Quick” refers to how easily the sand changes character from solid to liquid. As mentioned, quicksand pits are not bottomless. They are typically not even very deep. No scary creatures live in the sand to consume you.

Quicksand doesn’t suck you down, but you sink into as you would in any liquid. It is always denser than water alone. The high viscosity of the saturated sand creates resistance and suction. You are almost guaranteed to lose your shoes during a quicksand escape if they aren’t laced tight.

In 2005, researchers published in Nature how they simulated natural quicksand from a location in Iran using sand, clay, and saltwater. The results of the experiment made news headlines. We were assured that quicksand is real, but you can’t sink in more than halfway.

Locations

Areas of quicksand or dangerously sticky mud or clay are found around the world near sources of water. They can be a fairly permanent feature or appear in response to wet conditions. They can even move locations from one day to the next.

Locally known as “jelly sands”, areas of quicksand occur around the Santa Ana River in California, posing a threat to horses who step onto damp sand only to sink in. Horses may panic and become exhausted trying to escape. It can take special equipment to pull them out.

In 2019, two horses had to be rescued from Merthyr Mawr beach in Glamorgan, South Wales after they sunk into quicksand. A similar event in 2012 in Geelong, Australia required the horse to be sedated to get him out before the tide came in.

The Broomway path in the UK is a well-known hazard in Southend-on-Sea, England along the edge of the aptly named Foulness Island. Accessible only during low tide, the trail has claimed some who have gotten stuck in the quicksand and could not escape before the tide returned “faster than a man could run”. The so-called Black Grounds along the land’s edge consist of jelly-like mud.

In 2014, a 78-year-old woman who frequently hiked alone in Arches National Park, Utah without issue became stuck in quicksand for 14 hours before rescuers helped free her. As with other areas, it was difficult to tell the ground was unstable until you stepped in it.

And, again, in Arches, in early December 2025, a hiker on the Hayduke Trail walked over a sandy area with about an inch of water. He sank in to his ankle. The more he tried to pull free, the deeper his leg was trapped. He said about the experience: “It felt like I had stepped into concrete, and then it hardened around my leg. I couldn’t even move it a millimeter.” The threat here was freezing temperatures. Luckily, he was able to send an SOS on his GPS device and was rescued.

How to escape

If you discover you are rapidly sinking up to your waist, toss off any extra backpacks and attempt to redistribute your weight by lying back.

Selectively increasing the stress is the key to escape. Stopping can cause the viscosity of the material to increase (like when you stop stirring the corn starch). When you try pulling your leg out of the semi-liquid, you are working against a vacuum left behind. Instead, move a little back and forth to create a space for water to move into. This will loosen the material around your limbs. Don’t panic and move slowly and deliberately towards safe ground. Many people can extract themselves relatively easily, provided they can get leverage and move their legs/feet slowly and pull out. Most importantly, don’t hike alone and be aware of hazards in silty, wet places. Don’t fear the quicksand, just respect it.

https://youtu.be/oudz7EDe9Ew

References

Bakalar, N. (2005). Quicksand science: Why it Traps and How to Escape. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/9/quicksand-science-why-it-traps-how-to-escape/

Engber, D. (2010). Terra Infirma: The rise and fall of quicksand. Slate. http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2010/08/terra_infirma.html

Khamsi, R. (2005). Quicksand can’t suck you under. Nature.
https://www.nature.com/articles/news050926-9

Video blog

https://youtu.be/brw84JdPJWs

#Broomway #geologicHazard #jellySands #movies #popCulture #quicksand

https://sharonahill.com/?p=1414

Trapped in Quicksand

Once upon a time, adventurers into unknown lands feared quicksand – a deadly hazard that looked like a sand patch or a harmless puddle. Step in the wrong place, the natives warned, and you would die. This sudden peril became a very useful device in TV and movies from the 1950s to the 90s, and a metaphor for the U.S. war in Vietnam. It’s an old-fashioned trope now but quicksand is a real thing. A curious situation created through soil dynamics makes for some spooky geology.

Updated version. Originally published June, 17, 2023.

Quicksand, as a distinct thing and a metaphor for sinking deeper as you try to escape, was once popular in TV, movies, comic books, and adventure stories. It even became a fetish. In the 1960s, the concept of quicksand was invoked frequently whenever people went into unknown areas. It was characterized by immobilization and eventual death. Struggle was futile. The unfortunate victim was sucked down gradually into the goo until only an outstretched hand, and then, finally, a hat, was all that remained floating on the surface.

The quicksand was said to be bottomless.

All of that is untrue. Yet, quicksand is not wholly fiction. It can be a danger today, particularly to animals or people who can’t get out of the trap before a tide rushes in. Let’s unpack this geological hazard.

What is it?

Classic quicksand is a mix of sand and water that looks and acts like a solid but destabilizes and collapses when stress is applied.

Areas of silt and clay can also appear as a stable surface that collapses. There is also dry quicksand – a mix of air and sand – that will not hold weight. You might hear that some unsuspecting traveler through the desert (or fire swamp) will sink into a man-eating natural hourglass, but this is entirely mythical.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8Fsyld7YD0

Sediment + water

Think about how you moisten sand at the beach to build up a sand castle. A moderate amount of water and sand results in packed grains that are held fairly tightly together and can sustain weight. Additional water reduces friction, the particles separate and the mixture flows. The sand may look stable and can hold light weight but a force such as a foot bearing down disrupts the balance. The sand suddenly loses stability and collapses.

Vibration, such as from an earthquake, can trigger a complex process called liquefaction. Buildings constructed on wet ground can collapse during the shaking when the shear strength is suddenly reduced and the particles flow past each other. The land liquifies.

Natural areas of quicksand can be found where there is upward flowing water, like at the outflow of spring, or near rivers or on beaches where water is present just below the surface.

Silty areas can more easily liquify than sand. Clay deposits can exhibit thixotropic behavior and lose their shear strength suddenly due to vibration. (Add water to corn starch while slowly stirring to make it just liquid. Then let it rest. Is this a liquid or a solid? It’s a thixotropic solution.)

The higher the stress applied to the material, the more liquid it becomes. Therefore, thrashing around will indeed cause you to sink and become more engulfed.

Myths

“Quick” suggests the sand comes to life but, instead, it gives way. “Quick” refers to how easily the sand changes character from solid to liquid. As mentioned, quicksand pits are not bottomless. They are typically not even very deep. No scary creatures live in the sand to consume you.

Quicksand doesn’t suck you down, but you sink into as you would in any liquid. It is always denser than water alone. The high viscosity of the saturated sand creates resistance and suction. You are almost guaranteed to lose your shoes during a quicksand escape if they aren’t laced tight.

In 2005, researchers published in Nature how they simulated natural quicksand from a location in Iran using sand, clay, and saltwater. The results of the experiment made news headlines. We were assured that quicksand is real, but you can’t sink in more than halfway.

Locations

Areas of quicksand or dangerously sticky mud or clay are found around the world near sources of water. They can be a fairly permanent feature or appear in response to wet conditions. They can even move locations from one day to the next.

Locally known as “jelly sands”, areas of quicksand occur around the Santa Ana River in California, posing a threat to horses who step onto damp sand only to sink in. Horses may panic and become exhausted trying to escape. It can take special equipment to pull them out.

In 2019, two horses had to be rescued from Merthyr Mawr beach in Glamorgan, South Wales after they sunk into quicksand. A similar event in 2012 in Geelong, Australia required the horse to be sedated to get him out before the tide came in.

The Broomway path in the UK is a well-known hazard in Southend-on-Sea, England along the edge of the aptly named Foulness Island. Accessible only during low tide, the trail has claimed some who have gotten stuck in the quicksand and could not escape before the tide returned “faster than a man could run”. The so-called Black Grounds along the land’s edge consist of jelly-like mud.

In 2014, a 78-year-old woman who frequently hiked alone in Arches National Park, Utah without issue became stuck in quicksand for 14 hours before rescuers helped free her. As with other areas, it was difficult to tell the ground was unstable until you stepped in it.

And, again, in Arches, in early December 2025, a hiker on the Hayduke Trail walked over a sandy area with about an inch of water. He sank in to his ankle. The more he tried to pull free, the deeper his leg was trapped. He said about the experience: “It felt like I had stepped into concrete, and then it hardened around my leg. I couldn’t even move it a millimeter.” The threat here was freezing temperatures. Luckily, he was able to send an SOS on his GPS device and was rescued.

How to escape

If you discover you are rapidly sinking up to your waist, toss off any extra backpacks and attempt to redistribute your weight by lying back.

Selectively increasing the stress is the key to escape. Stopping can cause the viscosity of the material to increase (like when you stop stirring the corn starch). When you try pulling your leg out of the semi-liquid, you are working against a vacuum left behind. Instead, move a little back and forth to create a space for water to move into. This will loosen the material around your limbs. Don’t panic and move slowly and deliberately towards safe ground. Many people can extract themselves relatively easily, provided they can get leverage and move their legs/feet slowly and pull out. Most importantly, don’t hike alone and be aware of hazards in silty, wet places. Don’t fear the quicksand, just respect it.

https://youtu.be/oudz7EDe9Ew

References

Bakalar, N. (2005). Quicksand science: Why it Traps and How to Escape. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/9/quicksand-science-why-it-traps-how-to-escape/

Engber, D. (2010). Terra Infirma: The rise and fall of quicksand. Slate. http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2010/08/terra_infirma.html

Khamsi, R. (2005). Quicksand can’t suck you under. Nature.
https://www.nature.com/articles/news050926-9

Video blog

https://youtu.be/brw84JdPJWs

#Broomway #geologicHazard #jellySands #movies #popCulture #quicksand

https://sharonahill.com/?p=1414

Trapped in Quicksand

Once upon a time, adventurers into unknown lands feared quicksand – a deadly hazard that looked like a sand patch or a harmless puddle. Step in the wrong place, the natives warned, and you would die. This sudden peril became a very useful device in TV and movies from the 1950s to the 90s, and a metaphor for the U.S. war in Vietnam. It’s an old-fashioned trope now but quicksand is a real thing. A curious situation created through soil dynamics makes for some spooky geology.

Updated version. Originally published June, 17, 2023.

Quicksand, as a distinct thing and a metaphor for sinking deeper as you try to escape, was once popular in TV, movies, comic books, and adventure stories. It even became a fetish. In the 1960s, the concept of quicksand was invoked frequently whenever people went into unknown areas. It was characterized by immobilization and eventual death. Struggle was futile. The unfortunate victim was sucked down gradually into the goo until only an outstretched hand, and then, finally, a hat, was all that remained floating on the surface.

The quicksand was said to be bottomless.

All of that is untrue. Yet, quicksand is not wholly fiction. It can be a danger today, particularly to animals or people who can’t get out of the trap before a tide rushes in. Let’s unpack this geological hazard.

What is it?

Classic quicksand is a mix of sand and water that looks and acts like a solid but destabilizes and collapses when stress is applied.

Areas of silt and clay can also appear as a stable surface that collapses. There is also dry quicksand – a mix of air and sand – that will not hold weight. You might hear that some unsuspecting traveler through the desert (or fire swamp) will sink into a man-eating natural hourglass, but this is entirely mythical.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8Fsyld7YD0

Sediment + water

Think about how you moisten sand at the beach to build up a sand castle. A moderate amount of water and sand results in packed grains that are held fairly tightly together and can sustain weight. Additional water reduces friction, the particles separate and the mixture flows. The sand may look stable and can hold light weight but a force such as a foot bearing down disrupts the balance. The sand suddenly loses stability and collapses.

Vibration, such as from an earthquake, can trigger a complex process called liquefaction. Buildings constructed on wet ground can collapse during the shaking when the shear strength is suddenly reduced and the particles flow past each other. The land liquifies.

Natural areas of quicksand can be found where there is upward flowing water, like at the outflow of spring, or near rivers or on beaches where water is present just below the surface.

Silty areas can more easily liquify than sand. Clay deposits can exhibit thixotropic behavior and lose their shear strength suddenly due to vibration. (Add water to corn starch while slowly stirring to make it just liquid. Then let it rest. Is this a liquid or a solid? It’s a thixotropic solution.)

The higher the stress applied to the material, the more liquid it becomes. Therefore, thrashing around will indeed cause you to sink and become more engulfed.

Myths

“Quick” suggests the sand comes to life but, instead, it gives way. “Quick” refers to how easily the sand changes character from solid to liquid. As mentioned, quicksand pits are not bottomless. They are typically not even very deep. No scary creatures live in the sand to consume you.

Quicksand doesn’t suck you down, but you sink into as you would in any liquid. It is always denser than water alone. The high viscosity of the saturated sand creates resistance and suction. You are almost guaranteed to lose your shoes during a quicksand escape if they aren’t laced tight.

In 2005, researchers published in Nature how they simulated natural quicksand from a location in Iran using sand, clay, and saltwater. The results of the experiment made news headlines. We were assured that quicksand is real, but you can’t sink in more than halfway.

Locations

Areas of quicksand or dangerously sticky mud or clay are found around the world near sources of water. They can be a fairly permanent feature or appear in response to wet conditions. They can even move locations from one day to the next.

Locally known as “jelly sands”, areas of quicksand occur around the Santa Ana River in California, posing a threat to horses who step onto damp sand only to sink in. Horses may panic and become exhausted trying to escape. It can take special equipment to pull them out.

In 2019, two horses had to be rescued from Merthyr Mawr beach in Glamorgan, South Wales after they sunk into quicksand. A similar event in 2012 in Geelong, Australia required the horse to be sedated to get him out before the tide came in.

The Broomway path in the UK is a well-known hazard in Southend-on-Sea, England along the edge of the aptly named Foulness Island. Accessible only during low tide, the trail has claimed some who have gotten stuck in the quicksand and could not escape before the tide returned “faster than a man could run”. The so-called Black Grounds along the land’s edge consist of jelly-like mud.

In 2014, a 78-year-old woman who frequently hiked alone in Arches National Park, Utah without issue became stuck in quicksand for 14 hours before rescuers helped free her. As with other areas, it was difficult to tell the ground was unstable until you stepped in it.

And, again, in Arches, in early December 2025, a hiker on the Hayduke Trail walked over a sandy area with about an inch of water. He sank in to his ankle. The more he tried to pull free, the deeper his leg was trapped. He said about the experience: “It felt like I had stepped into concrete, and then it hardened around my leg. I couldn’t even move it a millimeter.” The threat here was freezing temperatures. Luckily, he was able to send an SOS on his GPS device and was rescued.

How to escape

If you discover you are rapidly sinking up to your waist, toss off any extra backpacks and attempt to redistribute your weight by lying back.

Selectively increasing the stress is the key to escape. Stopping can cause the viscosity of the material to increase (like when you stop stirring the corn starch). When you try pulling your leg out of the semi-liquid, you are working against a vacuum left behind. Instead, move a little back and forth to create a space for water to move into. This will loosen the material around your limbs. Don’t panic and move slowly and deliberately towards safe ground. Many people can extract themselves relatively easily, provided they can get leverage and move their legs/feet slowly and pull out. Most importantly, don’t hike alone and be aware of hazards in silty, wet places. Don’t fear the quicksand, just respect it.

https://youtu.be/oudz7EDe9Ew

References

Bakalar, N. (2005). Quicksand science: Why it Traps and How to Escape. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/9/quicksand-science-why-it-traps-how-to-escape/

Engber, D. (2010). Terra Infirma: The rise and fall of quicksand. Slate. http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2010/08/terra_infirma.html

Khamsi, R. (2005). Quicksand can’t suck you under. Nature.
https://www.nature.com/articles/news050926-9

Video blog

https://youtu.be/brw84JdPJWs

#Broomway #geologicHazard #jellySands #movies #popCulture #quicksand

https://sharonahill.com/?p=1414

A Few Observations on Standing on Quicksand

A few thoughts on the drawing I made yesterday morning.

One amoral transactionalist or another in my drawing might try to accumulate sufficient goods — in this case, enough flooring: planks, paving stones, rebar, etc. — to shore up only his patch of quicksand.

As he watched his trading partner and his fellow man sink, he might realize that he has done himself out of the trade that sustained and defined him.

He might also find that he needs the other guy after all, as it’s very hard to lay planks across one area of quicksand without building up another. (The best design would go to the very margins of the whole patch of quicksand, and anchor the floor in terra firma.) He has won only as much land as his transactions to date have secured for him. Once his trading partner sinks, he has made his last acquisition.

Even if their trade observes some rules, it will be short-lived unless they recognize that the patch of quicksand they’re standing on needs shoring up and maintenance. When the pair recognize that they share common ground, and a common future, they have a much better chance of keeping themselves from sinking.

With that recognition, they have already crossed over from amoral transactionalism into some sense of common life or mutual standing. They can start working together, or start coordinating their efforts: they might decide to tax their trade so that they can direct some of the goods toward building a shared foundation.

Do the pair locked in territorial rivalry have any future? One might prevail over the other, raid his stores of goods and make plans to occupy the entire territory. He could even enslave him or coerce him to build a stable platform over the quicksand patch.

It’s a future from which both parties should recoil in horror. At the very least they might understand that, all things being equal and luck being what it is, committing to this course means that one of them will end up dead or suffering under the lash.

And the best the winner of such a contest can hope for is the master’s fate: he will never be truly respected nor have standing as a person (which can only be granted by another person; but he has deprived his rival of that standing). He will have lost even that bitter sense of “we” that he knew in the days of territorial rivalry. Now he can only make the vanquished party hand over his goods, do his bidding, cower in fear or howl in pain.

#amoralTransactionalism #asking #ClimateChange #coDeliberation #collaboration #commonFuture #commonLife #cruelty #deliberation #ethics #globalWarming #master #moralCommunity #mutualRespect #mutualStanding #quicksand #respect #territorialRivalry #thePowerOfAsking #transactionalism