We’ve all seen a movie where the heroine is running away from the baddie, she’s nearly made it through the jungle when – oh, shit – she finds herself sinking helplessly in quicksand. ‘Mwah-ha-ha-ha!’ laughs the bad guy, moments before the hero saves the day with a convenient vine.
Despite what you see on the silver screen, quicksand isn’t some living creature that can suck you down into a bottomless pit. For a start, it’s rarely deeper than a metre.
Quicksand is basically just a mushy mixture of sand and water that is so wet it can no longer support any weight.
If you step into quicksand, it won't suck you down – but if you struggle, you’re likely to sink deeper into it.
So, how do you escape its clutches if you find yourself hip-deep in it?
Easy.
Make slow movements and bring yourself to the surface, then just lie back. You'll float and you can paddle to safety.
A word of warning: occasionally unusual conditions can liquefy solid ground in minutes. In the 1800s, a Kansas Pacific Railroad train fell into a quicksand creek bed during a flood. While some of the cars were recovered, the 200 tonne engine sank so deeply that it was never seen again.
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