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Getting Out of Quicksand
There you are, crossing the dunes in some desert landscape, perhaps in Utah or Africa, and you stop to ponder the beauty of the place. But suddenly, you realize something is amiss, the world is rising before your yes. No wait! You are sinking, that's what's happening. You are sinking in quicksand.A possibility? Probably not quite like I describe it. That came from a scene in Blazing Saddles or some cartoon I saw as a kid. The fact is, I've never really seen quicksand before and am not quite sure I believe it even exists...at least not as something that can consume you and kill you.
That said, I am always eager to help gadling readers help themselves. To wit: here is a fine little how to, a save yourself treatise on getting out of quicksand, should you be so unfortunate as to find yourself sinking as described above. The lessons taught in this little wiki might seem rather obvious (lesson 1: avoid quicksand. Ah, thank you, Dr. Einstein), but others are perhaps less so...for example Walk softly and carry a big stick, the idea being that you will test the ground in places where you believe there might be quicksand. Yeah, OK, maybe that's pretty obvious too. Maybe the best idea is just to stay safe indoors.
Naw, me neither.
Filed under: Arts and Culture, Hiking, Learning
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 4)
Don Dec 16th 2006 2:15PM
You are right mud is very scary,I almost sank up to my
waist.That was at around nine or ten years old.
Let your kids know and be aware!!!!!!!
Barry Geltner Dec 16th 2006 2:19PM
Yes, there really is something called quicksand. It's caused by a movement of plenty of water under a soft, sandy area. Your weight, and the sunction it causes when you move, will drag you down.
One person told me (years ago when I lived in Miami) that their quicksand area was yellowish in color. I'm not sure about it, although you can find some yellow soil in S. Fla..
How to escape from it???
First, never go out prospecting or in a dangerous area by yourself. Be prepared and go withsome who knows what the area is like.
Secondly, if in quicksand, fall flat on your back, or your stomach, to equalize your weight in the soft sand and try to move to one side to get out of it.
Now you know what to do.
Dennis Dec 16th 2006 2:22PM
I was killed in quick sand once
Larry Tours Dec 16th 2006 2:59PM
I stepped into a brownish color patch and immediatley sank to my thighs. I couldn't get out. When I struggled to get out, I sank slightly deeper.
I was in Belize Central America on a small island. We were walking ankle deep in blackish color water of a swamp among mangrove trees. The Belizian people with me, said "Why did you walk there ?" I felt like a dumb foreigner. They had a different name for quicksand. I don't remember it. It wasn't a good feeling being trapped by quicksand. I've seen the movies too. They used machetes to cut tree branches to reach out to me and pull me out. This didn't work! Then I got an idea. I asked them to climb the mangrove trees, causing the branches to bend down so I could take hold of the tree branches. Now my friends slowly climbed away from the branches. As tree branches bent back up, I was slowly pulled out of the quicksand.
So the local people learned something from a foreigner. Tell the foreigners not to step in brown patches. If he does, and there are trees. Climb the trees and bend the branches down to the dumb foreigner !
Larry
Jakki Harbolick Dec 16th 2006 10:36PM
While the original article was completely useless, the resulting story by Richard Addrisi made up for it entirely. Missppelings forgiven.
RICHARD ADDRISI Dec 20th 2006 10:26AM
SPELLING CORRECTED VERSION - SORRY ABOUT THAT, IT WAS EARLY!!
I was walking into the IRS building in Los Angeles, the floor was a sandy color, everything looked pretty safe to me. But five steps in the door, the sandy colored marble suddenly turned into quicksand. I, of course yelled for help--no-one came!!! Finally I screamed out my social security num and a IRS agent came to my rescue.He slid on his belly and yelled to me "grab on to this", it was a #2 lead pencil, but it was to slippery from the sweat of a thousand audits I couldn't hold on. He yelled out in what seemed to be a recorded voice "don't squirm it won't help you" I was surely lost.
But a-las I spotted my paper bag of deductions floating on the surface --AHA!!-- I'll spread them out and create a dry surface to crawl on. As I unfolded my credit card receipts-for restraints, hotels, trips to the Caiman Islands, doggy care pet food and a gift for my secretary (she's really special to me), the agent put on his IRS special glasses(magnified, infrared, with a lie detector sensor built in) and said "sir, do you make over a million dollars a year? "no I said", well President Bush has given special tax credits to those who are rich and I'm sorry but you can't use these deductions to save yourself.
So now as in Jimmy Hoffas case, I lie under a solid slab of marble--under the floor of the IRS building.
PS: If some day you walk in --and through a crack in the marble you see a receipt from "Zales jewelry" with an inscription "who's your daddy" please rip it up.
For I can see my wife jack hammering up the floor to get to me, just to piss on my grave!!!!!!
Thanks --------------R-------------------
atreyu merkinstein Jan 12th 2007 12:41PM
I was riding my horse alone through the trails of Georgia in the most scenic areas. I was walking her along the bank of a swollen river when I turned us in to get back to the trail. As soon as I walked over a bunch of dry leaves I felt her just slip. I looked down and her hooves were sinking fast. In only 10 min she was up to the saddle in mud. I too was in a tite spot. The soft mud was larger than I expected. When I finally got her calm she had sunk to her neck and each move was making me slip too. It took me an exahsting effort but I got out. She sucummed to the the mud but I respect the seriousness of deep mud.