Have you ever seen quicksand?

Stinsok · #1 07-10-2010, 07:37 AM

When I was a kid, it seemed like most tv shows had someone trapped in it ("Go get help, Lassie!") I have never seen any-has it disappeared? Tell me about this "quicksand."

FL Knifemaker · #2 07-10-2010, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stinsok

When I was a kid, it seemed like most tv shows had someone trapped in it ("Go get help, Lassie!") I have never seen any-has it disappeared? Tell me about this "quicksand."

Here in Florida, we have some swampy, sandy bog like places where you could possibly get stuck and maybe drown. I know people that have lost hunting dogs in the stuff. THe ground goes from solid to ............WHOAAAAAAA!!! PULL ME OUT!! In just a matter of steps

I've stepped out of my airboat on what I thought was solid ground and sank up to my chest. I don't know if it's classic quicksand but it's not fun and potentially dangerous.

mike_v_s · #3 07-10-2010, 08:01 AM

Do TB threads on particular subjects count?

Mike

KarateKid25 · #4 07-10-2010, 08:02 AM

There is some quicksand in Australia. Generally you don't drown / suffocate in it as it starts to get really dense as you go down. You would have more chance of getting stuck and then starving rather than actually going under.

Relic · #5 07-10-2010, 08:41 AM

There are parts of the Delaware river that have about 4-5' (probably a lot deeper too) of this nasty pudding-like mud that you just sink into.
I was out boating with my brother once and we were in shallow water, I jumped out to cool off and just kept on sinking into the stuff. If I was not hanging onto the side of the boat when I jumped, I may have drowned in the stuff. It was really disgusting to be honest. It was viscous enough to sink into with ease but thick enough that you could not kick or paddle your legs to stay afloat.
Not sure if that qualifies as quicksand or not

Jim C · #6 07-10-2010, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

Do TB threads on particular subjects count?

Mike

That or possibly if you bought a high end house a few years ago and would like to get out

JimB52 · #7 07-10-2010, 08:51 AM

I can be anywhere you find a spring underground, close to the surface.

T-Bird · #8 07-10-2010, 09:01 AM

Hi.

I don't usually recommend Myth Busters, but they did a rather good episode about quicksand and the myths about & around it.

IIRC, the conclusion was that the movie-like small quicksand patch is rare, but all sorts of liquid-like muds and sand+water combinations can get You stuck very firmly. On shores, ponds, small lakes etc. the light sediments can and will creat the kind of conditions Relic described above.

Being one of those darn kids that has been rescued by an older person after being stuck and sinking in the pool of mud I can tell that quicksand, mud, whatever the substance happens to be, IT AIN'T FUN.

Regards
Sam

FromBeyond · #9 07-10-2010, 11:29 AM

Somewhere, below my house, there is still a rubber boot and a sock or two that were pulled in (along with me, of course

) by quicksand about 12 years ago, when our house wasn't built yet and the entire area was a big artificial dune..
So yeah, that's just about my only experience with it.

MadMan118 · #10 07-10-2010, 02:38 PM

Some of the tidal areas along the Anchorage coast area have this thick mud that you can get stuck in but as far as I know only 2 people have died.

Gopherbassist · #11 07-10-2010, 02:56 PM

Yes I have, but it's not at all like on TV or in movies. You need thick clay mud, which is as saturated as it can get, and some sand for agitation. Stepping in the mud you'll sink some, and the clay will form a seal making it hard to lift your foot. Setting your foot down will push sand down, but the sand will want to rise above the mud, and will do so when you try to lift. This will clear space for your foot to sink farther when you put weight on it again. You won't sink more than an inch in this stuff, but if you're small and weak, or old a frail, I suppose it could kill you out away from civilization.

Although, maybe if it was a sand/mud mixture that was very well mixed and very deep, and saturated very deep, you could sink into it.

UnsungZeros · #12 07-10-2010, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FL Knifemaker

Here in Florida, we have some swampy, sandy bog like places where you could possibly get stuck and maybe drown. I know people that have lost hunting dogs in the stuff. THe ground goes from solid to ............WHOAAAAAAA!!! PULL ME OUT!! In just a matter of steps

I've stepped out of my airboat on what I thought was solid ground and sank up to my chest. I don't know if it's classic quicksand but it's not fun and potentially dangerous.

Yep. I've fallen into that and there's no good way to tell it apart from solid ground either.

i_got_a_mohawk · #13 07-10-2010, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UnsungZeros

Yep. I've fallen into that and there's no good way to tell it apart from solid ground either.

Pffft, sure there is.

Just make one of your friends go first

i_got_a_mohawk · #14 07-10-2010, 03:32 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS3xYiKUuIU

And they say chivalry is dead?

also:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHCW_bqWLTo

UnsungZeros · #15 07-10-2010, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by i_got_a_mohawk

Pffft, sure there is.

Just make one of your friends go first

Touche.

BurningSkies · #16 07-10-2010, 06:36 PM

Yeah, I saw them come through town several times in the late 80's and early 90's.

Probably the best was on my 21st birthday, when the opened up for Fugazi.

groooooove · #17 07-10-2010, 06:38 PM

once a buddy of mine got himself stuck in the typical "quicksand" situation.. we were near the beach in this half-swampy-near-the-shore area. he was sinking and unable to get out, untill i eventually found a washed up boogie board, laid it next to him so he could put his weight on it and pull free.

so, yes.

**SoComSurfing** · #18 07-10-2010, 06:53 PM

Every time I see this thread I can't help but sing CCR's "Have You Ever Seen the Rain".

Nothing further to add.

**TXLawDawg** · #19 07-10-2010, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimB52

I can be anywhere you find a spring underground, close to the surface.

You sir, ARE a ninja of some sort then

tom once dead · #20 07-11-2010, 05:43 AM

Just the other day I was at a river with my friend, and I went to walk across the sandy bank and the first step I took I sank into the sand to about half way up my shin. Then I went over to a different bank and I then one leg sank up to my hip. The only thing stopping me from sinking more was my other leg kinda sticking out to the side.

Its just from water flowing through the sand which makes it soft, not really quicksand but its pretty fun to walk in.