#Stuck in a latex quicksand how to#
#Stuck in a latex quicksand free#

That's how wilderness guide Hazen Audel escaped quicksand in a National Geographic episode of ' Primal Survivor.'

#Stuck in a latex quicksand free#

Then you can try backstroking your way free.Īnother option instead of laying on your back is - if you have access to firmer ground - lean forward and drag yourself free while gently kicking your legs. The more you distribute your weight across the surface, the harder it will be to sink farther. Next, if you're not too deep, you can try lying on your back. Instead, if possible, try making small back-and-forth motions with your legs, which should loosen the sand around you. They'll only be able to dislodge your top half since the pressure required to pull you out is the same force required to lift a small car, per National Geographic.

#Stuck in a latex quicksand how to#

Here's how to get out: How to escape quicksandĭon't ask your friend to pull you out. Once disturbed, quicksand becomes much more viscous, trapping whatever it envelops. What makes quicksand so dangerous is its viscosity. 'This arrangement is similar to a house of cards in that the space between the cards is significantly greater than the space occupied by the cards,' per SciAm.Īs a result, the sand looks solid on the surface but is very pressure sensitive and can easily collapse, causing the surface to sink beneath your feet. 'In normal sand, grains are packed tightly together to form a rigid mass, with about 25 to 30 percent of the space (voids) between the grains filled with air or water,' SciAm reports.īut if the sand's shape is more elongated than spherical, it can increase those voids from 30 percent up to 70 percent. What sets it apart from your average clump of sand is the sand grains' shape and how they fit together. Quicksand is a mix of sand and water, according to Scientific American. That's because our body's density is lower than the quicksand's, 'Extreme Encounters' says. Moreover, it's impossible to drown in quicksand because humans float in it. In fact, most quicksand pools are only a few inches to a few feet deep. Quicksand is not like how Hollywood traditionally portrays it. It's easy to sink deeper into this stuff if you're flailing about, and just one mouthful of quicksand could lead to asphyxiation, per the book ' Extreme Encounters.' If you find yourself stuck in quicksand, the first thing to remember is not to panic. This article is primarily transcribed from a 2017 Insider video on ' How to escape quicksand - it's easier than you might think.' Some of the information has been updated. This should loosen the dense sand around you, allowing you to pull yourself free slowly. Instead, calmly try freeing yourself by gently kicking your legs back and forth.

If you get stuck in quicksand, remember it's impossible to drown in the stuff.