You accidentally step into quicksand. You begin to sink. Can you drown? Quicksand is sand with so much water between its particles (颗粒) that it is soupy. Quicksand can no longer support weight. So does this mean one can drown in quicksand?
The truth is that it is very rare to drown in quicksand. This is because of two things. The first reason is that most quicksand pools are not deep. Usually, a person will sink only a few inches before hitting solid ground. If it is a deep pool, an adult will usually hit solid ground after sinking only to his or her waist (腰部). Deeper pools are rare, but even then, there is a reason why people are not swallowed up after accidentally stepping into quicksand.
The reason is that quicksand is dense. When something is dense, its particles are crowded close together. Quicksand is denser than the human body. This means that humans will naturally float in quicksand! The upward push of quicksand is greater than the downward push of the human body.
Usually you will sink to your chest before you begin to float. Your lungs, acting like giant balloons, help you float. You will only sink further if you are loaded down, perhaps with a heavy pack. Take off your pack, and you cannot drown. You cannot be swallowed.
One man escaped from quicksand after he sank up to his chest. How did he do it? He swam. People can swim in quicksand if they move slowly enough. The man slowly made swimming motions with his arms and legs. He swam slowly and carefully for one hour. He did not stop making the swimming motions once. Finally, he reached the edge of the quicksand pool. He did not drown. He climbed out unharmed.
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