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A group of hikers encountering quicksand on the banks of the Paria River, Utah Quicksand warning sign near Lower King Bridge, Western Australia. Quicksand is a shear thinning non-Newtonian fluid: when undisturbed, it often appears to be solid ("gel" form), but a less than 1% change in the stress on the quicksand will cause a sudden decrease in its viscosity ("sol" form).
Quicksand forms when water saturates an area of loose sand, and the sand is agitated. When the water trapped in the batch of sand cannot escape, it creates liquefied soil that can no longer resist force. Quicksand can be formed by standing or (upwards) flowing underground water (as from an underground spring), or by earthquakes.
It turns out that quicksand, known as supersaturated sand, is a real thing around the world, even in Maine, far from the jungle locations where Hollywood has used it to add drama by ensnaring actors.
The main danger is being trapped and exposed to the elements in quicksands located on riverbanks, at the base of earthen dams, in abandoned rock quarries, in swamps, etc. Quicksand does not act as in the B-movies of the 1940s or 1950s in which people get "sucked" under the surface: since quicksand is thicker than water, one can float higher in ...
Dry quicksand is loose sand whose bulk density is reduced by blowing air through it and which yields easily to weight or pressure. It acts similarly to normal quicksand, but it does not contain any water and does not operate on the same principle. Dry quicksand can also be a resulting phenomenon of contractive dilatancy.
For U.S. children between the ages of 1 and 4, drowning is the leading cause of death. But there is a small group of fatal drownings that appear paradoxical: Strong, experienced swimmers, like ...
A more modern view suggests that an autonomic conflict – sympathetic (due to stress) and parasympathetic (due to the diving reflex) coactivation – may be responsible for some cold water immersion deaths. Gasp reflex and uncontrollable tachypnea can severely increase the risk of water inhalation and drowning. [3] Some people are much better ...
Initially, the cause of her death was known as a heart attack, but it was later confirmed to be drowning. It is believed that she was under the influence of alcohol when she died. Eric Geboers, age 55, a 5-time Belgian world champion motocross racer, died on 6 May 2018, while trying to save his drowning dog. [93]