Tue 12 Dec 2006
Some vital tips in life, for times that you will never know when to be prepared and when knowledge far outweighs technological equipments.
Drop everything
Because your body is less dense than quicksand, you can’t fully sink unless you panic and struggle too much (which will cause the sand to further liquefy) or you’re weighed down by something heavy. If you step into quicksand and you’re wearing a backpack or carrying something heavy, immediately take off your backpack or drop what you’re carrying. If it’s possible to get out of your shoes, do so; shoes, especially those with flat, inflexible soles (many boots, for example) create suction as you try to pull them out of quicksand. If you know ahead of time that you are highly likely to encounter quicksand, change out of your boots and either go barefoot or wear shoes that you can pull your feet out of easily.Â
Relax
Quicksand usually isn’t more than a couple feet deep, but if you do happen across a particularly deep spot, you could very well sink quite quickly down to your waist or chest. If you panic you can sink further, but if you relax, your body’s buoyancy will cause you to float.
Breathe deeply. Not only will deep breathing help you remain calm, it will also make you more buoyant. Keep as much air in your lungs as possible. It is impossible to “go under” if your lungs are full of air.
Get on your back
If you sink up to your hips or higher, bend backward. The more of your body you have touching the quicksand, the more surface tension you will create, and the harder it will be to sink. Float on your back while you slowly and carefully extricate your legs. Once your legs are free you can inch yourself to safety by using your arms to slowly and smoothly propel yourself. If you are very near the edge of the quicksand, you can roll to hard ground.
Take your time
If you’re stuck in quicksand, frantic movements will only hurt your cause. Whatever you do, do it slowly. Slow movements will prevent you from agitating the quicksand—the vibrations caused by rapid movements can turn otherwise relatively firm ground into more quicksand. More importantly, quicksand can react unpredictably to your movements, and if you move slowly you can more easily stop an adverse reaction and, by doing so, avoid getting yourself stuck deeper. You’re going to need to be patient; depending on how much quicksand is around you, it could take several minutes or even hours to slowly, methodically get yourself out.Get plenty of rest
Other than panic, exhaustion is your worst enemy. Since it can take a long time to get yourself out of quicksand, be sure to take breaks and just float on your back if you feel your muscles getting tired. If you’re in a dangerous tidal zone, however, you may be in a race against time (see warning below).
There it is… the main tips… for the whole article, head over to http://www.wikihow.com/Get-out-of-Quicksand.