March 30, 2007, Newsletter Issue #130: Quick Quicksand

Tip of the Week

Materials:
Plastic container
Scissors
Duct or plastic tape
Garden hose
Small, heavy toys

The car sinks slowly into the quicksand pit, soon to be drawn into oblivion. Onlookers gasp as they wonder about the fate of the inhabitants. A scene from an Indiana Jones movie? No, the car is a toy, and the quicksand "pit" a plastic container. Here´s how to make one yourself.
•Take a large yogurt or cottage cheese container or bottom of a quart milk jug and cut a half-inch hole in the side near the bottom.
•Cut eight half-inch slits radiating from the hole, like the spokes of a bicycle wheel.
•Push a garden hose into the hole, then seal the edges around the hose as best you can with duct or wide plastic tape.
•Fill the container with sand, not quite to the top -- do not pack or tamp down.
•Put a rock or small, heavy toy on top of the sand and turn on the spigot so the water trickles into the container (test beforehand to determine how much of a turn of your faucet handle produces a trickle).
•The sand will rise slightly as the water seeps between the grains, weakening its ability to support the toy. In other words ... quicksand!

About LifeTips

Now one of the top on-line publishers in the world, LifeTips offers tips to millions of monthly visitors. Our mission mission is to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Expert writers earn dough for what they know. And exclusive sponsors in each niche topic help us make-it-all happen.

Not finding the advice and tips you need on this Academic Tip Site? Request a Tip Now!


Guru Spotlight
Jolyn Wells-Moran