Question: How can you ensure you do not sink in quicksand?

Leo Garcia answered on 25 Jun 2010:

Quicksand acts as a ‘non-Newtonian fluid’ – just like when you mix cornstarch with water to make a ‘gloop’, which you might have done in school or at home:

http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryhowtoguide/ht/oobleck.htm

To escape from quicksand, you must apply very large pressure very very slowly – it amounts to around the force you’d need to lift to medium-sized car at around 0.1 m/s. Because quicksand is very dense, though, it would not be possible for someone to completely sink into it (like in the movies), but it would certainly make moving around much harder – and leave you open to other ways of hurting yourself like overexposure to the sun or incoming tides:

http://www.faqkids.com/idx/4/076/The_Earth/article/Why_does_quicksand_make_you_sink.html