



The sand around you also settles into place.Ĭontinued movement (like thrashing around from panic) keeps the mixture more like a liquid, so you sink further. If you stop after the first step, the sand particles beneath you get compressed by your weight. Stepping on it initially lowers the viscosity, so you sink. Undisturbed quicksand appears solid, but it's really a gel. What this means it can change its ability to flow (viscosity) in response to stress. Technically speaking, quicksand is a non-Newtonian fluid. If you have to rescue yourself, wriggle your legs to make the quicksand more fluid while trying to sit back into the quicksand to increase your body's surface area. The best way to prevent a fatality is to keep a charged cell phone with you so you can call for help.Death can come in the form of suffocation, dehydration, hypothermia, predators, crush syndrome, or drowning from a river or incoming tide. Even though you can't sink all the way into quicksand, it's a killer.However, a person or branch can be used to help reduce the victim's weight, making it easier to work free and float. A rescuer can't simply pull a victim out of quicksand.Really, the only way to drown from the quicksand is to fall into it head first or face first. You can only sink into quicksand up to your waist.It changes its viscosity in response to stress or vibration, allowing you to sink, but making it hard to escape. Quicksand is a non-Newtonian fluid made of sand mixed with water or air.
