re: Quicksand Warning for Arizona and Utah

Lol i grew up in the 90s and also had an irrational fear of quicksand. Why is that?

(Grok) -- Can a human sink over his or her head in quicksand?

No, a human cannot sink over their head in quicksand under normal circumstances. This is one of the most persistent myths popularized by movies and old adventure stories, but physics makes full submersion (head going completely under) essentially impossible for a person. Quicksand is a mixture of sand, clay/silt, and water that behaves like a non-Newtonian fluid: it looks solid until disturbed, then acts more liquid-like. When you step in, you sink partway because your weight disrupts the particle structure and liquefies the mixture locally. However, the key factor is density and buoyancy

(Archimedes' principle):
The average human body has a density of about 1 g/cm³ (similar to water, though we float slightly due to air in lungs). Quicksand has a density around 2 g/cm³ (roughly twice as dense as water).

Because quicksand is denser than a human body, buoyancy prevents you from sinking completely. You'll typically sink to about waist or chest level (sometimes up to the armpits if struggling), but the upward buoyant force equals your weight long before your head goes under. Experiments (including lab tests with human-density objects) confirm that even vigorous shaking or movement doesn't force full submersion.

Struggling actually makes things worse temporarily by liquefying the quicksand more, causing deeper initial sinking—but physics caps how far you go. Real dangers from quicksand come from:

Getting stuck for hours/days ? exposure, dehydration, or hypothermia.
Tidal areas ? incoming tide could submerge your head while you're immobilized.

Very rare cases (e.g., falling in headfirst or with heavy gear) where someone might briefly go under, but these are exceptional and not the norm.

Bottom line: Hollywood lied. You won't disappear beneath the surface like in the movies. Stay calm, lean back to spread your weight, move slowly to let water flow in and loosen the grip, and you can usually work your way out.

Quick sand and devil worshipping. My mom had us scared shitless about this

It's really sad that all of Fantasia had to die because the kid was too afraid to believe in his imagination.

F'n punk arse bitch. UGGHH

I went there in Page, AZ about 18 months ago. I could have sunk in quicksand.

This just made my day.

After growing up, I was surprised to find that nunchuck fights weren't all that common.