Play Goo and Quicksand questions

[tanya_wam]

I've finally managed to fill two shoebox size (well, somewhat slightly bigger than) containers of a play slime called Whoopie Goo: http://www.discount-wholesale.co.uk/buy ... oo_384.htm - as I found this stuff to be awesome and not unlike the bleck you see in the MPV videos. The advantage is it doesn't stain your skin and it usually rolls off (more on that in a moment) so you don't have to clean up after. Body hair may be a quite different issue, as is fabric, but as I can only get ankle deep in my containers, it's not really an issue unless I decide to get slightly more intimate with it

But what I have come here to ask is, having slowly built up my containers, is when I pull my foot out at an angle - heel first - the goo rolls off my foot quite easily, and usually the only parts that get goo clinging to them is between the toes where some might get trapped. But I just tried pulling my foot out while still 'flat', and the goo, besides having a lot more suction, actually clung to my foot after coming out!

Now I'm curious, as this is probably the nearest I'll get to actually stepping in quicksand for the foreseeable, is does quicksand actually suck like this? Obviously what I have is a thick viscous semi-liquid (which feels totally amazing btw! ) and not one that is like quicksand in being a 'solid' mass. It's grains of sand in a liquid suspension. The nearest I've seen are the bogs that Boggy Man jumpsin which he describes as 'doughy'? And of course the bleck - my goo stretches and oozes more like that so I guess this stuff may have some sort of starch in it. When my feet are in it, just over my ankles, the suction is soooo great I can literally lift them off the ground an inch or three before my foot slurps and gurgles itself out! And each container isn't exactly light!

I have read about 'pockets of suction' in quicksand that can drag you down or at least make it more difficult to get free, and to experience something like it first hand is quite an eye opener! I'd love a larger container (though hiding these is awkward as is, and the weight! ) or even a bathful but the cost is probably quite prohibitive - my two containers over a good several months probably come to about £100 or so - not to mention cleaning up issues, even though it does roll easily off the skin and any smooth surface. Less so rugs or material. I did try an old stocking on my foot when I had one container, and it stuck like glue to it, making getting my foot out about ten times more difficult and totally trashed it! Which leads to another question... weight of wet fabric aside, does quicksand (or any other sinky situation) cling more to clothes or material, even tight-fitting ones which are lycra/elastane or even wetsuits, than bare skin, and make getting out more difficult?

[Fred588]

Its a little bit difficult to answer without actually seeing what you describe but I will take a stab at it.

Consider any object immersed partly in any fluid. If the object is lifted, as if to remove it from the liquid, the liquid must flow around the object so as to fill the spaces where the object was. If the fluid is water it does this fairly easily, although MORE easily if it has a smooth path to follow. If the object is moved sideways the same phenomenon will occur. It is known as drag. It also happens when the fluid is a gas and is why modern cars have smoother lines than older ones. Smoother lines minimize drag.

If the fluid has a high degree of viscosity it does not flow as easily and therefore the drag is a lot greater. If the object is shaped so as to make it hard for the fluid to flow the drag is greater.

The above will happen in any Newtonian fluid. Water and most mud are Newtonian fluids. Some mud materials, however, are non-Newtonian fluids and behave differently. The various goo substances, wettened starch, and the like are non-Newtonian. They are made up of particles that can move around each other slowly but not rapidly. With these, if you try to press a finger into them slowly it will penetrate easily, but try it fast and it locks up. True quicksand is like that as well but is also that was only some of the time. If you step of a column of sand fully saturated with water the water will be forced to the surface. This turns the sand into quicksand. But once the sand is no longer saturated it locks up. There are also non-Newtonian fluids; some lavas, for example, that behave in other curious ways.

I've finally managed to fill two shoebox size (well, somewhat slightly bigger than) containers of a play slime called Whoopie Goo: http://www.discount-wholesale.co.uk/buy ... oo_384.htm - as I found this stuff to be awesome and not unlike the bleck you see in the MPV videos. The advantage is it doesn't stain your skin and it usually rolls off (more on that in a moment) so you don't have to clean up after. Body hair may be a quite different issue, as is fabric, but as I can only get ankle deep in my containers, it's not really an issue unless I decide to get slightly more intimate with it

But what I have come here to ask is, having slowly built up my containers, is when I pull my foot out at an angle - heel first - the goo rolls off my foot quite easily, and usually the only parts that get goo clinging to them is between the toes where some might get trapped. But I just tried pulling my foot out while still 'flat', and the goo, besides having a lot more suction, actually clung to my foot after coming out!

Now I'm curious, as this is probably the nearest I'll get to actually stepping in quicksand for the foreseeable, is does quicksand actually suck like this? Obviously what I have is a thick viscous semi-liquid (which feels totally amazing btw! ) and not one that is like quicksand in being a 'solid' mass. It's grains of sand in a liquid suspension. The nearest I've seen are the bogs that Boggy Man jumpsin which he describes as 'doughy'? And of course the bleck - my goo stretches and oozes more like that so I guess this stuff my have some sort of starch in it. When my feet are in it, just over my ankles, the suction is soooo great I can literally lift them off the ground an inch or three before my foot slurps and gurgles itself out! And each container isn't exactly light!

I have read about 'pockets of suction' in quicksand that can drag you down or at least make it more difficult to get free, and to experience something like it first hand is quite an eye opener! I'd love a larger container (though hiding these is awkward as is, and the weight! ) or even a bathful but the cost is probably quite prohibitive - my two containers over a good several months probably come to about £100 or so - not to mention cleaning up issues, even though it does roll easily off the skin and any smooth surface. Less so rugs or material. I did try an old stocking on my foot when I had one container, and it stuck like glue to it, making getting my foot out about ten times more difficult and totally trashed it! Which leads to another question... weight of wet fabric aside, does quicksand (or any other sinky situation) cling more to clothes or material, even tight-fitting ones which are lycra/elastane or even wetsuits, than bare skin, and make getting out more difficult?

[nachtjaeger]

And with some kinds of clay-based mud, you run into an issue where the mud is too thick to allow air to pass through it. The mud acts like a suction cup. You can get stuck literally ankle deep- less likely when barefoot, but very likely with shoes or boots on. If you're wearing lace-up footwear and get into thick mud, you could be there a while. If you can reach down into the mud and untie or cut the laces, you can get your feet out, but you'll likely be walking home barefoot.
Even bare-legged, some kinds of mud can be almost impossible to get out of unless you know the right escape techniques. Imagine pulling a suction cup off of glass; now imagine a suction cup the diameter of your calf- or thigh.
Experienced that myself once. Lost a sneaker taking a shortcut across some really treacherous mud. So I took off the other sneaker and socks, rolled my jeans up as high as I could, and waded in to retrieve it. Amazing how long it took me to dig the sneaker out, even though it was only down a few inches. But I got it! That was when I realized that the mud wasn't going to let ME go easily, either.
Lucky for me, the mud was thick enough (barely) that I could use the trick of working my leg back and forth (NOT up and down) and pushing my hand down beside it until I could break the suction. Had to do that every step until I was back on solid ground.

[tanya_wam]

Its a little bit difficult to answer without actually seeing what you describe but I will take a stab at it.

There are videos on YouTube but as I got into trouble once for posting a link to another video which had children sinking in a fake tabletop quicksand, I was loathed to post any here. If you google 'grotland whoopie goo', there's a six minute video of a girl playing with some. it will give you a rough idea of the viscosity of what I have.

[tanya_wam]

Actually, this YouTube video appears to be just the hands of an adult woman playing with the whoopie goo for the first few minutes so is presumably safe for the board?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKyeD44WzE8

[tanya_wam]

Yes, I've experienced this suction with the goo, even barefoot! I wonder what it would be like on an actual boot, which I might just get in the containers?

This is why pulling my foot out heel first works better - the goo just slips off the skin. If I don't, the goo stretches like bleck, and when it finally is pulled back into the container, I get gooey smears left stuck to my skin and toes!

And with some kinds of clay-based mud, you run into an issue where the mud is too thick to allow air to pass through it. The mud acts like a suction cup. You can get stuck literally ankle deep- less likely when barefoot, but very likely with shoes or boots on. If you're wearing lace-up footwear and get into thick mud, you could be there a while. If you can reach down into the mud and untie or cut the laces, you can get your feet out, but you'll likely be walking home barefoot.
Even bare-legged, some kinds of mud can be almost impossible to get out of unless you know the right escape techniques. Imagine pulling a suction cup off of glass; now imagine a suction cup the diameter of your calf- or thigh.
Experienced that myself once. Lost a sneaker taking a shortcut across some really treacherous mud. So I took off the other sneaker and socks, rolled my jeans up as high as I could, and waded in to retrieve it. Amazing how long it took me to dig the sneaker out, even though it was only down a few inches. But I got it! That was when I realized that the mud wasn't going to let ME go easily, either.
Lucky for me, the mud was thick enough (barely) that I could use the trick of working my leg back and forth (NOT up and down) and pushing my hand down beside it until I could break the suction. Had to do that every step until I was back on solid ground.