Fun fact · 4:17am Feb 18th, 2021
It is impossible to sink all the way into quicksand. What you see in the movies is wrong.
Quicksand is a dense mixture of fine soil and water. The fine soil particles trap water inside the soil pores (this is called pore pressure). But when the quicksand is agitated (for example, when someone steps on it), the trapped water escapes from the soil pores, causing the soil to rapidly lose strength. And so you sink in.
However, humans (or ponies, for that matter) are about half as dense as quicksand. So, no, you will not sink all the way in. You will actually float on quicksand, if you lean back. Or if you're upright, you'll stop sinking once you reach about waist deep.
I honestly don't think that makes quicksand any less terrifying, though. Imagine being stuck waist-deep in quicksand, totally aware of your surroundings, but slowly starving to death because you can't get out.
Here's an example of a real-life quicksand rescue. Notice how the unfortunate victim is only waist-deep.
Also, state-of-the-author update. School has started, and I'm taking a lot of interesting but very challenging classes. I'm probably working close to 12-14hrs a day on schoolwork. So any new stories will be slow. Currently working on another kirin story and a fun little Rainbow Dash story. We'll see which one gets finished first.
Huh, neat. But since when do filmmakers care for realism? They also like to shoot people in the leg a lot. Funny thing is, if you shot someone in the leg several major blood vessels and arteries would be in danger, and the victim would bleed out before anything happened, let alone grab a weapon or limp away.
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In the tagged story, I had the main character sink all the way in, for dramatic effect, even though I knew this was impossible in reality.
Well, that's what makes it fiction, amirite?
The real threat of quicksand is when you get stuck, the pressure can cut off circulation that can lead to possible toxic shock or even necrosis of tissues that can cause sepsis.
Ah, alright. Your kirin-focus stories are some of my favorites, and the muse wants what the muse wants.
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Yep. And it makes it, as you said, dramatic. Same goes for having someone shot in the leg. Makes for a really dramatic moment. Especially if it's the hero of the story.
As much as I would have to agree with you, I think in the instance as shown in EQG special, the portal may have changed the situation slightly.
Ahh, but it's magic quicksand! It can do whatever the writers want it to do!
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Maybe, but where you most frequently get quicksand the tide will deal with you long before toxic shock becomes an issue...
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It all depends on where the quicksand is. Yes a lot of quicksand forms in coastal areas, but it also forms around rivers and in swampy areas. I live about 50 miles north of the Okefenokee Swamp and there's a real risk of quicksand and quickmud, along with all the other risks of living in the GA low country.