In the October 4 issue of the New York Times, Kenneth Chang reports that quicksand, the lethal substance that sucks unlucky movie heroes down to their death, is made out of the ordinary ingredients water, sand, salt and clay. If you happen to step in quicksand, will it be the end of you?

Researcher Daniel Bonn analyzed this substance and reported on it in a recent issue of the prestigious journal Nature. Bonn, who lives in Amsterdam, became interested in quicksand when he was in Iran a few years ago and saw signs warning about it. He collected samples and took them home to analyze.
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