Quicksand Myth Debunked:

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Quicksand Myth Debunked: You Can Float Free

http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnatu ... ksand.html

I will have to remember this when I come across some quicksand. Thanks

Thank god. I was worried about that.

like the quicksand article, useful

Its not really that new a knowledge. My mother told us how to escape rips and quicksand like that when we were like, 5. That would be about 15 years ago, now. It was common knowledge back where she grew up. They have a river there, where quicksand often forms, and everyone knew how to escape. 'Wives tales' and 'folklore' often contain grains of truth, and only through science are we now coming to realize that.

Mythbusters did an episode on this a while back. We tried to replicate in our lab at uni but just ended up making a complete mess. Yuk.

What if you cant float? I tried flaoting in pools and it impossible.

well quicksand is thicker than water, obviously.

a question though: what if you are already waist-deep in water when you step in quicksand? i think that would be a problem

Don't struggle, for a start, you'll work your way in deeper. Just stick there, shout around, and hope someone nearby hears you. If not, you'll probably die there. Ilikedragons, I, too, find that it is hard to float in water. It is a lot easier to float on your stomach than on your back. But also, a lung full of air helps a lot. If you float on your back, and exhale, you'll probably get real close to sinking underneath entirely. So you need to breath back in rather quickly, to stay afloat.

I usually just teleport out of quicksand. Saves a lot of stress.

I remember when we lived in Florida it had plenty of swamps I never did come across though any quicksand myself.

those of us who grew up elsewhere don't always have access to "old wisdom"

No, but just because someone doesn't know it, doesn't mean it isn't known. I just dislike the part about 'a new study'. Its like having 'a new study' to see how to boil eggs. I just really hate when some things are made out to be special, when really they aren't. It's like if you've just learnt how to weld. You think its special and that because you figured it out it makes you special, but if others have known it for ages, you're really not. Just thinking about it really makes me aggressive.

Anyone ever get stuck in mud? I got stuck in it and had to take my shoes off to get out.