Curious About Quicksand

In episode 225, we get curious about quicksand for Dylan from London, UK, and Graham from Oregon.  We learn whether or not quicksand is dangerous, and what you should do if you ever get stuck in quicksand.  Are you curious what a non-Newtonian fluid is?  Tune in to find out.   

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Transcript

PODCAST 225: CURIOUS ABOUT QUICKSAND

RELEASE DATE: SUNDAY, JANUARY 22ND, 2023

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  EVERYONE HAS FEARS.  YOUR FEARS MAY BE A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN MINE.  I REMEMBER, GROWING UP IN THE 1980S, THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT A LOT OF KIDS MY AGE WERE SCARED OF BECAUSE OF THINGS THEY HAD SEEN ON TV OR IN THE MOVIES.  ALMOST EVERYONE MY AGE PROBABLY REMEMBERS SEEING QUICKSAND ON TV OR IN A MOVIE.  IF YOU ARE A BIT OLDER THAN ME, IT IS EVEN MORE LIKELY THAT YOU REMEMBER SEEING QUICKSAND ON TV OR IN A MOVIE.  THAT’S BECAUSE 1 OUT OF EVERY 35 MOVIES RELEASED IN THE 1960’S FEATURED A SCENE WITH QUICKSAND.  EVEN IN THE 70’S AND 80’S, HUNDREDS OF MOVIES WERE RELEASED THAT HAD SCENES WITH QUICKSAND.  THERE ARE FAR LESS MOVIES WITH QUICKSAND IN THEM TODAY.  APPROXIMATELY 1 OUT OF EVERY 200 MOVIES MADE THESE DAYS HAS QUICKSAND.  IS QUICKSAND REALLY AS DANGEROUS AS IT IS PORTRAYED TO BE ON TV AND IN THE MOVIES?  LET’S LEARN MORE.  

O:  DOUBLE-MAILBAG!

D:  DOUBLE-MAILBAG!

“DEAR OLIVIA AND JACOB, MY NAME IS DYLAN.  I LIVE IN LONDON, ENGLAND.  I LISTEN TO YOUR PODCAST IN THE CAR WITH MY BROTHERS.  I AM CURIOUS ABOUT QUICKSAND - HOW DOES THE HUMAN BODY FALL THROUGH QUICKSAND?  MY FAVORITE EPISODE IS CURIOUS ABOUT PEE AND POOP.

FROM DYLAN OF LONDON”

“HI OLIVIA AND JACOB.  MY NAME IS GRAHAM AND I AM 5 YEARS OLD.  I LOVE YOUR PODCAST AND LISTEN TO IT EVERY DAY!  MY FAVORITE EPISODES ARE THE ONES ON VIKINGS AND PIRATES!  I WOULD LOVE TO LEARN ABOUT QUICKSAND, WATCHES, AND DIAMONDS.  

“GRAHAM AND NANNY CAMILLE FROM OREGON”

O:  WOWIE, THIS EPISODE IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN, BECAUSE QUICKSAND SEEMS LIKE AN INTERESTING TOPIC AND I DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT IT.  I CAN’T WAIT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT QUICKSAND FOR DYLAN AND GRAHAM.  

D:  IN CASE YOU’RE WONDERING, IF YOU WERE TO BELIEVE THE WAY QUICKSAND WORKS IN MANY TV SHOWS AND MOVIES, YOU MIGHT THINK QUICKSAND IS SUPER DANGEROUS.  YOU MIGHT EVEN BELIEVE THAT IT CAN SUCK A HUMAN DOWN INTO THE GROUND, BUT IS THAT HOW QUICKSAND ACTUALLY WORKS?  THANKFULLY, THE ANSWER IS NO.  OLIVIA, WHAT’S THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK?

O:  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS, WHAT KIND OF QUICKSAND WOULD ACTUALLY BE DANGEROUS?  HINT:  IT’S NOT THE TYPE OF QUICKSAND YOU WOULD FIND IN TV SHOWS AND MOVIES.

D:  OKAY.  BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER, LET’S LEARN WHAT QUICKSAND IS.  

O:  QUICKSAND IS SAND THAT DOESN’T ACT LIKE NORMAL SAND, BECAUSE IT IS SOMETHING CALLED A NON-NEWTONIAN FLUID.

D:  MOST THINGS CAN BE CATEGORIZED AS A SOLID, LIQUID, OR GAS.  WHAT WOULD YOU CONSIDER SAND?

O:  SAND WOULD MOST DEFINITELY BE A SOLID.

D:  THAT’S ABSOLUTELY RIGHT, BUT SOMETIMES SAND DOESN’T ACT LIKE A SOLID, OR A LIQUID OR GAS FOR THAT MATTER.  SOMETIMES IT ACTS LIKE A NON-NEWTONIAN FLUID.  

O:  MOST LIQUIDS ACT THE SAME, WHETHER OR NOT STRESS IS ADDED.  BY STRESS, I MEAN THAT SOMETHING ELSE IS INTRODUCED TO CHANGE THE WAY IT ACTS.

D:  THERE IS SOMETHING THAT BOTH OF US LIKE TO EAT, AND WE LIKE TO EAT IT A LOT, AND IT IS A NON-NEWTONIAN FLUID.

O:  THAT WOULD BE KETCHUP.  IF YOU SHAKE KETCHUP, IT BECOMES LESS VISCOUS, WHICH MEANS THAT IT GETS RUNNIER.  

D:  OTHER NON-NEWTONIAN FLUIDS INCLUDE BLOOD, PAINT, SHAMPOO, AND TOOTHPASTE.  ALL OF THOSE THINGS GET RUNNIER, OR LESS VISCOUS, IF YOU ADD STRESS TO THEM BY SHAKING THEM.  THEY ARE CALLED NON-NEWTONIAN FLUIDS BECAUSE THEY DON’T FOLLOW NEWTON’S LAW OF VISCOSITY, WHICH STATES THAT FLUIDS WILL KEEP A CONSTANT VISCOSITY INDEPENDENT OF STRESS.  

O:  BUT HOW DOES QUICKSAND STOP ACTING LIKE A SOLID AND START ACTING LIKE A NON-NEWTONIAN FLUID?

D:  BECAUSE, IN THE CASE OF QUICKSAND, THE SAND IS SATURATED WITH WATER.

O:  BY SATURATED, IT MEANS THAT THE SAND IS SO FULL OF WATER, THAT NO MORE WATER CAN BE ABSORBED.  

D:  SO, IF THERE IS AN AREA OF LOOSE SAND, AND THE LOOSE SAND FILLS UP WITH WATER, THAT SAND WILL BECOME AGITATED.  JUST LIKE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU BECOME AGITATED, AGITATED SAND DOESN’T WORK THE WAY IT’S SUPPOSED TO.

O:  IT BECOMES ALL SOUPY AND CAN NO LONGER SUPPORT THE WEIGHT OF SOMETHING ON TOP OF IT. 

D:  THERE ARE TWO MAIN THINGS THAT CAN TURN REGULAR SAND INTO QUICKSAND.  ONE OF THOSE THINGS IS FLOWING UNDERGROUND WATER.  

O:  THE OTHER THING THAT CAN AGITATE SAND IS EARTHQUAKES.  EARTHQUAKES ARE CAPABLE OF INCREASING THE PRESSURE OF THE WATER UNDERGROUND, WHICH WILL THEN MIX WITH SAND SO THAT THE SAND ACTS MORE LIKE A LIQUID THAN A SOLID.  

D:  FLOWING UNDERGROUND WATER OR EARTHQUAKES CAN INCREASE VIBRATIONS IN THE SAND, LOOSENING THE FORCE OF FRICTION THAT USUALLY KEEPS SAND TOGETHER.  

O:  WATER NEEDS TO BE NEARBY FOR SAND TO TURN INTO QUICKSAND.  THAT MEANS THAT PLACES LIKE BEACHES, MARSHES, AND RIVERBANKS ARE PLACES WHERE QUICKSAND IS MOST LIKELY TO FORM.

D:  IF YOU’VE BEEN ON THE BEACH BEFORE, YOU PROBABLY KNOW HOW WATER IMPACTS SAND.

O:  IF YOU STAND FAR FROM THE OCEAN, ON THE DRIEST PART OF THE BEACH, THE SAND WILL SUPPORT YOUR WEIGHT VERY WELL.

D:  BUT, AS YOU APPROACH THE WATER, WHERE THE SAND HAS SOME MOISTURE IN IT, THE SAND WILL ACT DIFFERENTLY.  THERE IS SOMETHING CALLED A CAPILLARY ATTRACTION THAT ALLOWS SAND THAT IS MODERATELY WET TO CLUMP TOGETHER, WHICH IS WHY THIS TYPE OF SAND IS PERFECT FOR BUILDING SAND CASTLES.

O:  BUT, IF THE AMOUNT OF WATER IN THE SAND WAS HIGH ENOUGH FOR THE SAND TO BE COMPLETELY SATURATED, QUICKSAND WOULD RESULT.  THAT WOULD CAUSE ANYTHING ON TOP OF THE SATURATED SAND TO SINK.  

D:  SO, LET’S SAY YOU FIND YOURSELF IN QUICKSAND.  WHAT DO YOU DO NEXT?

O:  IF YOU EVER FIND YOURSELF IN QUICKSAND, WHICH IS VERY UNLIKELY BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE, THE FIRST RULE IS NOT TO PANIC.  

D:  IN QUICKSAND, THE MORE YOU MOVE, THE FASTER YOU SINK.  BECAUSE IT IS A NON-NEWTONIAN FLUID, MOVING AROUND A LOT IN THE QUICKSAND IS LIKE SHAKING UP KETCHUP, IT JUST MAKES THE QUICKSAND LESS VISCOUS, MEANING THAT YOU WILL SINK EVEN QUICKER.  IF YOU RELAX IN QUICKSAND, YOUR BODY WILL BE ABLE TO FLOAT IN IT.  THAT’S BECAUSE YOUR BODY IS LESS DENSE THAN QUICKSAND.  

O:  ALSO QUICKSAND IS DENSER THAN WATER.  THAT MEANS THAT IT’S ACTUALLY EASIER TO FLOAT IN QUICKSAND THAN IT IS TO FLOAT IN WATER.

D:  SO, THE BEST APPROACH TO TAKE IN QUICKSAND IS TO MAKE VERY SLOW MOVEMENTS TO BRING YOURSELF BACK TO THE SURFACE.  ONCE YOU RETURN TO THE SURFACE, LIE ON YOUR BACK TO FLOAT.  

O:  AND, IF YOU END UP IN QUICKSAND AND FORGET ALL OF THE TIPS WE JUST GAVE YOU FOR GETTING OUT, AND YOU START GOING CRAZY AND FLAILING YOUR ARMS AND LEGS AROUND, CHANCES ARE YOU WILL STILL BE JUST FINE, BECAUSE MOST QUICKSAND FOUND IN NATURE IS NOT MORE THAN A FEW INCHES DEEP.  

D:  SO, STEPPING IN QUICKSAND WILL PROBABLY MAKE YOU DIRTY, AND YOU MAY GET WET SAND IN YOUR SHOE, OR EVEN WORSE, LOSE A SHOE THAT ENDS UP DROWNING IN THE QUICKSAND, BUT THE ODDS OF ANYTHING MORE SERIOUS HAPPENING ARE VERY LOW.  EVEN THOUGH QUICKSAND, AS WE KNOW IT, ISN’T VERY DANGEROUS, IT DOES HAVE A RELATIVE THAT IS DANGEROUS, AND IS THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.  OLIVIA, WHAT KIND OF QUICKSAND WOULD ACTUALLY BE DANGEROUS?

O:  DRY QUICKSAND WOULD BE DANGEROUS, BUT DON’T WORRY BECAUSE DRY QUICKSAND HAS NEVER BEEN DISCOVERED IN NATURE, AND IT HAS ONLY BEEN CREATED IN A LAB.

D:  SO, QUICKSAND IS WET, LIKE WE LEARNED A FEW MINUTES AGO.  DRY QUICKSAND, AS THE NAME WOULD SUGGEST, IS DRY.  SCIENTISTS HAVE CREATED DRY QUICKSAND BY BLOWING AIR THROUGH SAND.  DOING THIS CREATES A VERY LOOSE COLLECTION OF SAND THAT COULD BARELY HOLD ITS OWN WEIGHT.  THAT MEANS THAT IF ANY OBJECT WAS PLACED ON DRY QUICKSAND, IT WOULD SINK INSTANTLY WITH THE SAND COLLAPSING OVER THE OBJECT, BURYING THE OBECT UNDERNEATH.  NOT ONLY THAT, BUT THE ENERGY FROM THE COLLAPSE WOULD EVEN SEND A STREAM OF SAND SHOOTING UPWARDS.  THANKFULLY, NO DRY QUICKSAND HAS EVER BEEN DISCOVERED IN THE WILD, BUT ONLY IN A LABORATORY.  WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O:  225 - QUICKSAND

D:  GREAT JOB OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB DYLAN AND GRAHAM FOR THE SANDTASTIC EPISODE TOPIC SUGGESTION.  JOIN US NEXT WEEK, WHEN WE WILL GET CURIOUS ABOUT CAMERAS, FOR LISTENERS IN KANSAS, NEW JERSEY, AND CANADA.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.