Tag: Thomas Stig Wikman

A Total Solar Eclipse the Ultimate Moon Shade

Esther’s writing prompt: October 8 : Shade

Click here or here  to join in.

On April 8, 2024, a narrow sliver of the United States, including Dallas, where we live, experienced a total solar eclipse whilst most of the United States experienced a partial solar eclipse. We also had a three hour long partial solar eclipse and the total solar eclipse lasted four minutes. To explain, first there was a one and a half hour partial solar eclipse, then the total solar eclipse lasting four minutes, and then a one and a half hour long partial solar eclipse again. A partial solar eclipse is interesting, but a total solar eclipse is something else entirely. A total solar eclipse is the ultimate moon shade and an unforgettable lifetime experience.

We were all sitting outside in our backyard having a little party, drinking beer and eating snacks, as the partial solar eclipse began. During the partial solar eclipse, it was still daylight, and you could not look at the sun unless you had ISO certified solar eclipse glasses, which we did. When you put on the solar eclipse glasses you could see that the sun looked like a crescent. This was not possible to see without the solar eclipse glasses, and you certainly should not look at the sun during a partial solar eclipse.

Suddenly, it got dark, not entirely dark, but more like as if it was well into twilight. The sun turned into a black circle surrounded by a faint wispy light. That was the sun’s corona, which normally is invisible due to the sun’s powerful light. The sun’s transformation only took a few seconds. The darkness fell extremely fast as if someone turned off the lights. Now you could look straight at the sun without the ISO certified solar eclipse glasses. Looking straight at the sun during a total eclipse is perfectly safe since all you see is a black circle in the sky. What you see is the black moon. The sun is hidden behind the moon. However, you need to be ready to put on your glasses, or turn your head, when it is time for the sun to come back.

As the sun suddenly vanished, the birds and the insects became quiet. The stars came out. Venus appeared above our heads, not far from the sun. It shone brightly in a location where you normally never see Venus. Venus typically appears above the western horizon after sunset (the evening star) or above the eastern horizon before sunrise (the morning star), not right above you. It was quiet, dark, the sky was beautiful and filled with stars, and there was a black circle in the sky surrounded by the magical faintly shining corona.

I knew what was coming next as the four minutes came to a close, so I put my ISO certified solar eclipse glasses back on. At first, I saw nothing. Then I saw something that looked like a big star that was quickly expanding like a super nova and turning into a thin bright thin crescent. The lights came on, the stars and Venus disappeared, the birds and insects began making noise again. Daylight and the whole world returned in just a few seconds. Now we had another one and a half hour of a partial solar eclipse to enjoy (using our solar eclipse glasses).

Map of north America showing the path of the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. Several cities in the path of totality are marked | A Total Solar Eclipse the Ultimate Moon Shade
Path of totality (total solar eclipse). I am allowed to use this image as long as I link back to the National Eclipse. Click on the image to visit the National Eclipse.

What is a Total Solar Eclipse?

Solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, blocking the Sun’s light and casting a shadow on Earth’s surface. This is illustrated in the picture below. As you can see there’s a weaker but larger shadow covering a portion of earth. This corresponds to the moon not blocking all of the sun, which results in a bright sun crescent. The darker smaller region/circle on earth corresponds to the moon blocking all of the sun resulting in near total darkness. This is the region on earth that has a total solar eclipse.

The illustration shows the sun on the left, then the moon blocking the sun’s light for earth, which is located on the right.
Solar Eclipse with Sun Moon and Earth Orbit. Shutterstock Asset id: 2292547031 by Nandalal Sarkar
Blue planet earth with a small moving dot for totality and a big blue shadow showing the extent of partial solar eclipse | A Total Solar Eclipse the Ultimate Moon Shade
Gif animation illustrating totality and extent of partial solar eclipse. Official work for NASA.
The photo shows a dark blue sky and a black circle surrounded by a wispy light. That is the sun’s corona.
Solar Eclipse. The moon moving in front of the sun. The wispy light is the sun’s corona. It is typically invisible due to the sun’s strong light. It is fine to look at the sun’s corona with the naked eye. It is not very bright, more like the moon’s light. I can add that this photo corresponds the closest to what we saw with our naked eyes. Asset id: 2441654015 by GagliardiPhotography
Solar Eclipse photo | Black circle surrounded by a wispy white fog like light. That’s the sun’s corona | A Total Solar Eclipse the Ultimate Moon Shade
Solar Eclipse photo taken with a photo filter solar Stock Photo ID: 2344355767 by aeonWAVE
The photo shows total solar eclipse, the sun totally covered by the moon. It is very small in the photo. There is a star-like object, that’s Venus, a cloud and airplane contrail.
Total solar eclipse photo that my daughter took with her iPhone. The sun, I mean the moon, looks small in the picture, but they were the normal size. Can you find Venus?
Photo of my 10 solar eclipse glasses | A Total Solar Eclipse the Ultimate Moon Shade
My solar eclipse glasses that I bought on Amazon.

Partial Solar Eclipse

As I said, most of the country had a partial solar eclipse and we had a partial solar eclipse as well as a total solar eclipse. During a partial solar eclipse, it does not get dark, no stars come out (the sun is too bright), the birds don’t stop singing, and you cannot see the partial solar eclipse with the naked eye. You need ISO certified solar eclipse glasses. However, there are other cool effects such as the shadows of the trees turn into thousands of little crescents.

The photo shows a shiny crescent on black background.
Partial eclipse photo taken with my old Samsung Galaxy phone and a photo filter.
The moon is passing in front of the sun causing a partial solar eclipse.
Illustration / enhanced photo of partial solar eclipse. Shutterstock Asset id: 2237042889 by Kolonko

Annular Solar Eclipse

Lastly there are also annular solar eclipses. That is almost a total solar eclipse, but the moon is not covering all of the sun’s disc resulting in circle of the sun being visible. It is similar to a partial solar eclipse in the sense that it is still daylight, the stars won’t come out, etc. I can add that even though the light is dimmed a bit during an annular solar eclipse it does not get dark as during a total solar eclipse. The picture below is a bit misleading in that sense (probably a photo filter).

A ring of fire around a black circle with a silhouette of a dromedary camel | A Total Solar Eclipse the Ultimate Moon Shade
Annular solar eclipse in desert. Liwa desert, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Shutterstock Asset id: 1598991664 by Kertu

Miscellaneous Solar Eclipse Photos taken with Cell Phones

These eight pictures above were taken with cell phones by my daughter Rachel, and friends Denise Mosier-Wanken, and Margaret Weiss Bloebaum.

If you want to read more about this experience you can click here or here.

To see the Super Facts click here

There Are Scientific Facts

Super fact 62 : Facts exist in science; a scientific “fact” is an observation of a natural phenomenon that has been repeatedly confirmed by independent observers and is accepted as true for all practical purposes.

Outside of mathematics and logic nothing is ever the final truth, not in science, and not anywhere else. However, there are facts that have been so well confirmed and are so basic that there is no reason to doubt them. Earth is not flat like a pancake, and the sun is a star, are two examples of astronomical facts. Most dogs have four legs is another fact. The speed of light in vacuum is the same for all observers is a fact in physics that is surprising if you didn’t know it before. Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by experiments or other means. It is possible that we are all living in a virtual reality, like in the movie The Matrix, and that Earth is really flat like a pancake after all, because all of reality is a dream. However, for all practical purposes, it is not the case.

This blog, super facts, deal with facts that are surprising, strange, or disputed by non-experts, and yet true because they have been verified, for example, in the case of scientific facts, by repeatable careful observation. Anyone is free to object if you think I am wrong about a fact.

My next super fact is going to be “Evolution is a fact”. Evolution is also a scientific theory, but it means something different from when you say evolution is a fact. Moreover, a Scientific Theory is not a guess, as commonly but incorrectly assumed. I am bringing this up because many people who are typically unaware of the evidence behind a fact will use arguments such as “science does not know everything”, “it is just a theory”, etc., in efforts to dismiss a well-supported claim.

I should say that this post is inspired by a Facebook post by “The Credible Hulk”, a Facebook page managed by a group of anonymous scientists opposing misinformation around vaccines, global warming, evolution and GMOs. I did not save the post, but it went something like this:

One of the commentors said : “Calling evolution a “fact” defeats your argument. The Theory of Evolution is by definition a theory not a fact. It’s the currently agreed upon hypothesis but not a fact”

What the commentor did not realize is that “Theory” in the context of science does not mean what he thought it did. I am using past tense because he got “schooled”. To his credit he did not respond with insults and neither did the Credible Hulk, which does not seem to be standard on Facebook. However, his comment illustrates something that drives scientists like those who created “The Credible Hulk” nuts, and that is the widespread lack of understanding of the difference between a guess, a hypothesis, a scientific fact, theory as used in common language and used when talking about a scientific theory.

Rather than having this discussion over at my upcoming “Evolution is a fact” post, I am making a separate post about it. I consider “There are Scientific Facts” a super fact because it is true, and yet the confusion around it and what a Scientific Theory pertains is massive, and it is an important topic.

What is Science?

Science is the process of learning about the world through systematic observation and experimentation to gain knowledge about how things work. It involves observing phenomena, forming testable ideas (hypotheses), systematic studies, conducting experiments, and collecting evidence and facts that support or refute those ideas, ultimately leading to a deeper understanding of general truths and natural laws. If an idea/hypothesis correctly predicts and explains facts, it becomes a theory, which is something that is very different from a guess.

The process of making observations, formulating testable hypotheses, conducting experiments, analyzing data, and drawing conclusions to understand phenomena and solve problems is referred to as the scientific method, and there are different types of scientific methods. Some involve experiments, other involve analysis historical artifacts or existing data. Objectivity, reproducibility, falsifiability, and predictive power or problem solving are essential.

Banner research vector illustration concept with keywords and icons for Analysis, Data, Survey, Development, Fact, Knowledge, and Data Entry
Aspects of scientific research include analysis, data collection, sometimes surveys, development, establishing facts, creating knowledge, and data entry so that others can repeat it and verify results. Shutterstock Asset id: 1100776715 by Trueffelpix

What is a Scientific Theory?

When people hear the phrase “evolution is a theory,” many mistakenly assume it means evolution is just a guess or speculation. In science, however, a theory is far more than a guess. A scientific theory is an explanation of an aspect of the natural world that can be or that has been repeatedly tested and has corroborating evidence in accordance with the scientific method, using accepted protocols of observation, measurement, and evaluation of results. In other words, it is a well-tested, comprehensive explanation of natural phenomena, supported by an extensive body of evidence.

3D Isometric Flat Vector Conceptual Illustration of Scientific Method and Knowledge Acquiring. Icons organized in a circle, observation, question, hypothesis, experiment, conclusion, and result | There Are Scientific Facts
Conceptual Illustration of Scientific Method and Knowledge Acquiring. Notice, not all scientific methods necessarily include experiments. Some include surveys, or testing of ancient artifacts, etc. Shutterstock Asset id: 2139402875 by TarikVision

The evidence for evolution is both vast and compelling. It is not just the massive fossil record, it is in DNA, anatomy, there’s geographic evidence, and evidence from dozens of other scientific fields, not to mention that evolution is directly observable. There is a Theory of Evolution, that is the well supported explanation for evolution, or evolution by natural selection. There is also “Evolution is a fact” referring to, for example, the fact that we can directly observe it. It is true for all practical purposes, and that does not mean that evolution stops being a scientific theory as well as a fact.

Afterword

Even though science is constantly evolving and our knowledge is evolving and sometimes our understanding and scientific theories on a topic needs to be updated, scientific facts exist. Some scientific facts are extremely unlikely to change. For example, Jupiter has multiple moons, galaxies exist, global warming is real and is caused by us, and evolution is a fact. Before you decide to dismiss such a fact make sure you know what “theory” means in science, and most importantly educate yourself on the relevant evidence. There might be a whole lot more than you imagined, and you may discover that the evidence you thought was contrary is not evidence.

You often hear “science does not know everything”. That’s true. If science knew everything it would stop. However, the collective knowledge created by science is enormous and as individuals we know next to nothing. So be humble and learn from scientific evidence presented by reliable sources.

To see the other Super Facts click here

More Science Books for Babies

This is my second and last post covering books from the Baby University series. There are 44 of them. I think the Baby University series books are quite interesting for children. They may not really be for babies, but they appear to me to be great for young children. The point of the books is not to make young children understand complex scientific concepts but to introduce them to scientific vocabulary and build their curiosity. We bought 10 of these books for our soon to be born first grandchild (due date September 17). We also bought other books for him. If you want to see my post for the five first books, click here.

Below I am presenting five books in the series, Evolution for Babies, Nuclear Physics for Babies, Astrophysics for Babies, Quantum Entanglement for Babies, and Newtonian Physics for Babies. For each of the books I am providing my review for the book and a link to my review as well as a link to the book on Amazon and a photo of the front cover.

Evolution for Babies

The front cover of Evolution for Babies is blue and features the title, author (Chris Ferrie) and a green illustration of evolving binkies | More Science Books for Babies
Front cover of Evolution for Babies.

This is the Amazon link for Evolution for Babies.

My Review for Evolution for Babies

Natural Selection as Simple as Possible

This simple board book just shows different kinds of balls falling through a hole until one ball doesn’t. It’s too big for the hole. That’s the surviving ball. Balls like that ball will be the survivors. That is Natural selection. It is very simple, but I guess it is to the point. I guess anyone can understand that. Even a baby.

Nuclear Physics for Babies

The front cover of Nuclear Physics for Babies is light blue and features the title, author (Chris Ferrie and Clara Florance) and a blue and red illustration showing protons and neutrons and a binky.
Front cover of Nuclear Physics for Babies.

This is the Amazon link for Nuclear Physics for Babies.

My Review for Nuclear Physics for Babies

The Blue Balls Keep the Red Balls Together

This book is about red balls called protons. They have a positive charge, and they repel each other. There are also blue balls called neutrons. If you put a blue ball between two red balls, the two red balls will not repel and will not fly apart. The more red balls there are, the more blue balls we need. The red and blue balls are at the center of the atom. If the number of red balls and blue balls is not right the nucleus becomes unstable, and it releases energy. That is radioactive decay. The book explains half-life. So that’s the story. It is simple and fun, and your baby can start working on his PhD in nuclear physics when he turns one years old.

Note: I would like to add one thing that I did not note in my review. The neutrons would not be able to hold together two protons just by being neutral. What the baby book is not mentioning is that neutrons (and protons) have a force that acts like glue, called the strong nuclear force. The strong force, color charges, quarks and gluons is what my previous post is about.

Astrophysics for Babies

The front cover of Astrophysics for babies is dark blue and features the title, author (Chris Ferrie and Julia Kregenow), and there is an illustration of the sun and a binky orbiting the sun | More Science Books for Babies
Front cover of Astrophysics for Babies.

This is the Amazon link for Astrophysics for Babies.

My Review for Astrophysics for Babies

Stars and Planets are Balls. The Sun is a Star

Earth is like a ball, and the sun is like a ball, and the earth orbits the sun. The sun is a star that looks big because it is close. Other stars look tiny because they are far away. Stars are heavy balls of hot gas. Inside stars atoms squeeze together. Smaller atoms squeeze together making bigger atoms and releasing energy in the process. The exploding stars spread bigger atoms across the Universe. The book is colorful and simple reading, but it features the Periodic table, which is not for babies, but ignoring that, this is a simple and fun book for young children.

Quantum Entanglement for Babies

The front cover of Quantum Entanglement for babies is red and features the title, author (Chris Ferrie) and an illustration of a two binkies supposedly entangled.
Front cover of Quantum Entanglement for Babies.

This is the Amazon link for Quantum Entanglement for babies.

My Review for Quantum Entanglement for Babies

Quantum Entanglement Using Balls

We bought this book for our future grandchild who will soon be born. It is a very short board book which takes one minute to read. It is about balls, like most of the “for babies” books. There are two red balls and two blue balls. Hide them in boxes. We know the colors, but Alice and Bob do not. However, in quantum physics the balls have a special bond. We put the tangled balls in two boxes. When the boxes are opened, both balls are blue or both balls red. What’s the point?

I am an adult who knows a little bit about Quantum Entanglement, and I did not understand what they meant. How is a baby going to understand it? It is a nice colorful board book but I wish they’ve taken a different approach.

Newtonian Physics for Babies

The front cover of Newtonian Physics for babies is green and features the title, author (Chris Ferrie) and an illustration of a binky with three red arrows representing forces | More Science Books for Babies
Front cover of Newtonian Physics for Babies.

This is the Amazon link for Newtonian Physics for Babies.

My Review for Newtonian Physics for Babies

Newtons Laws and a Ball Explained to the Very Young

We bought this book for our future grandchild who will soon be born. It is a very short board book which takes one minute to read. The book is about a ball. A ball feels the force of gravity, and it is pulling it down. When the ball is on the ground the ball still feels the force of gravity but the ground pushes back with an equal force and the ball is at rest. If there is a net force the ball moves.

At the end the book lists the three laws of motion. 1. If an object has zero net force, it does not change its motion. 2. The net force is equal to mass times acceleration. 3. For every force, there is an equal force in the opposite direction. It is very simply expressed, and the illustrations are fun, but I still think this book requires the child to be a bit older for him to understand, maybe 3-4 years old rather than a baby. However, I think the book can evoke an interest in science and physics at an earlier age. Despite it being one of the tougher books in the series, I think it seems to be a pretty good book.

To watch a woman read Astrohysics for Babies. Click on the YouTube video below.

To see the Super Facts click here

Science Books for Babies

I think that one of the most interesting series science books for beginners that I’ve come across is the Baby University series. I bought it for our soon to be born first grandchild Jack, but I couldn’t help but go through them myself. It is a great series for those who hope to put their one-year-old toddlers in a PhD program. But seriously, these books explain science concepts as simply as it is possible to do. The books may still be a little bit tough for babies, but I think 2–3-year-olds might get something out of them. The point of the books is not to make young children understand complex scientific concepts but to introduce the vocabulary and build curiosity.

Below I am presenting five books in the series, General Relativity for Babies, Electromagnetism for Babies, Artificial Intelligence for Babies, Quantum Physics for Babies, and Organic Chemistry for Babies. I am providing my review for the book and a link to my review as well as the book and a photo of the front cover.

General Relativity for Babies

The front cover of General Relativity for Babies is light blue and features the title, author (Chris Ferrie) and a green illustration of warped space | Science Books for Babies
Front cover of General relativity for Babies.

This is the Amazon link for General Relativity for Babies.

My Review for General Relativity for Babies

General Relativity as Simplified as Possible

We bought this board book for our not yet born grandson. This book simplifies the General Theory of Relativity as far as you possibly can. It uses simple language and colorful illustrations to give the reader an idea of what is going on. Different sized masses are different sized balls, space-time curvature is illustrated using a distorted grid, and objects orbiting larger masses, such as a star, are shown as small balls having their paths curved by a warped grid. There are simple explanations for what a black hole is and what gravity waves are.

A baby would not understand this book but maybe someone who is 3-4 years old would. But your expectations need to be realistic. It should also be noted that even if you understand the book, the explanations are too simplistic for you to really understand General Relativity, but the explanations are not so simple that they are wrong. The book will just give you an idea of what is going on. However, I was impressed by the fact that the author and illustrator were able to present such an abstract theory in a way that makes it possible for a child to at least have a clue. I think that the most important aspect of the book is not whether the child understands General Relativity but the interest in science that it may evoke.

Electromagnetism for Babies

The front cover of Electromagnetism for Babies is light green and features the title, author (Chris Ferrie) and a light blue illustration of a binky surrounded by a field.
Front cover of Electromagnetism for Babies.

This is the Amazon link for Electromagnetism for Babies.

My Review for Electromagnetism for Babies

Electromagnetism Simplified for Young Children

We bought this short and colorfully illustrated board book for our not yet born grandson. I don’t think a baby will understand it but maybe when he is 2-3 years old. The book explains in simple terms and with colorful simple illustrations the basic concepts of charges, and attraction between negative and positive charges, and repulsion between two positive balls/charges and two negative balls. It explains about electrical and magnetic fields, and the fact that charges rotate around magnets. I believe this book can spur a child’s interest in science and engineering.

Artificial Intelligence for babies

The front cover of Artificial Intelligence for babies is black and features the title, author (Chris Ferrie) and an illustration of a binky surrounded by an electronic network | Science Books for Babies
Front cover of Artificial Intelligence for babies.

This is the Amazon link for Artificial Intelligence for babies.

My Review for Artificial Intelligence for babies

Artificial Intelligence for Small Children

We bought this board book for our not yet born grandson. He will not be able to understand it until he is at least one years old, but that is OK. The book explains the difference between a dog, a live thing, and a computer. It does this in very simple terms that I believe a young child could understand. According to the book, a computer can do some things that are impressive, such as complex calculations, and you can teach it certain skills, but it is not adaptable like a dog. I think that is about what you can make a very young child understand. Naturally, there are no neural networks or AI algorithms in the book. However, I think it sells artificial intelligence short, since artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly adaptable.

Quantum Physics for babies

The front cover of Quantum Physics for babies is yellow and features the title, author (Chris Ferrie) and an illustration of a simplified Bohr Model of the Atom with a binky as a nucleus.
Front cover of Quantum Physics for babies.

This is the Amazon link for Quantum Physics for babies.

My Review for Quantum Physics for babies

Quantum Physics for Young Children and Adults who Detested Physics Class

We bought this board book for our not yet born grandson. We may need to wait until he is 2-3 years old before it makes sense to read it to him. In the meantime, it is also a good book for adults without a solid science education. The book talks about colorful balls with energy and presents a simplified version of the Bohr model of the atom. There are blue balls called electrons and red balls called protons in the middle (the nucleus). The electrons travel in circular orbits around the middle. Light can change the energy of electrons causing them to jump between the orbits.

My daughter made the comment that a baby is only going to understand that an electron is a blue ball and a proton is a red ball, which isn’t a correct description of electrons and protons. Protons and electrons don’t have specific colors, not to mention that a simplified Bohr model for the atom is quite different from the more realistic Schrödinger’s model of the atom with quantum waves and probabilistic electron clouds. However, I am still very impressed by how simple the author and the illustrator succeeded in making this abstract topic. It is a good start for budding physicists.

Organic Chemistry for babies

The front cover of Organic Chemistry for babies is red and features the title, author (Chris Ferrie and Cara Florance) and an illustration of a benzene ring made from binkies | Science Books for Babies
Front cover of Organic Chemistry for babies.

This is the Amazon link for Organic Chemistry for babies.

My Review for Organic Chemistry for babies

Your First Book on Organic Chemistry

We bought this board book for our not yet born grandson. We will read it to him when he is 1-3 years old. Right now, we can read it. This book simplifies Organic as far as you possibly can. It uses simple language and colorful illustrations to give the reader an idea of what organic chemistry is. Basically, atoms are balls of different kinds. Atoms make up everything. Atoms can stick to each other, and they can make different shapes. The balls we call carbon (in black) can stick to small white balls called hydrogen and other balls called oxygen. We call those organic molecules, and they make up plants, food, and medicines. I think this is simple enough for a 1–3-year-old to understand, but not a baby. In my opinion, a better name for this series would have been “for Big Boys or Girls” rather than babies, because young children don’t like being called babies.

To watch a woman read Quantum Physics for Babies. Click on the YouTube video below.

To see the Super Facts click here

Quicksand

A lot of people have died on the silver screen from being trapped in quicksand. In the 1960s, almost 3% of films featured someone sinking in clay, mud or sand. However, this is extremely rare, if it has ever happened, and it is very difficult to find any documented cases of people drowning in quicksand even when they struggle. The reason is that you can never completely become submerged in quicksand because quicksand is much denser than water so you’ll easily float. If you relax you will float and sink no more than up your waist or lower chest. In addition, quicksand pits are rarely more than a few feet deep. Another misconception spread by the silver screen is that quicksand appear in the desert. However, quicksand usually appears near water.

Quicksand is thick and heavy, and it is extremely difficult to get out once you are stuck. The best way to get out of quicksand on your own is to slowly lean back so that the weight of your body is distributed over a wider area and then do back and forth movements as if you are swimming. It will take a long time though, so expect to take it very slowly and gently.

That does not mean that getting stuck in quicksand is not dangerous. There are documented cases where people have gotten stuck in quicksand and there was no one around to help them and they couldn’t get out on their own and eventually died from thirst, exposure, or attacking animals. Another dangerous situation is when the quicksand is located on a beach near the shore. There are cases where a person was stuck in quicksand, and the tide came in resulting in a drowning.

There are situations in which the dangers associated with being submerged in quicksand are real, and that is what is called “grain entrapment” or “grain engulfment”. Several people are killed each year when they become submerged in grain and cannot escape. This happens in grain elevators and silos. So don’t jump into grain silos.

I should say that I do not consider this a super fact because it is not very important information, sort of trivia, and I also don’t think there is enough reliable information out there about this. However, I think it is interesting information that relates to me a little bit (see next section). To remind you, this is what I consider a super fact.

A super fact is:

  • An important fact that can be simply stated.
  • It is very surprising, shocking, widely disputed, misunderstood, or mind-blowing.
  • Yet it is true with a very high degree of certainty.
Outdoor photo of a cute young woman wearing a safari outfit sinking deep into the ground as like it was jungle quicksand, the ground turned into sandy milkshake mud, with a quicksand sign at the edge.
Woman sinking in quicksand Shutterstock Asset id: 2576940253 by Shutterstock AI

My Quicksand Experience

When I was about 6-7 years old, I had my own experience with quicksand or at least a mudpuddle that acted very much like quicksand. I should say that back then neighbors were friends, and your lawn was everyone’s lawn, and the kids in the neighborhood played with each other. The kids roamed the neighborhood and the forest. We threw stones at imaginary witches, screamed at moose, broke into barns to jump in the hay, ate dirt and cheerfully watched the schoolhouse burn down. There were no cellphones, doomscrolling, political keyboard warriors, online predators or overprotective parents. Kids were happy back then, but life was less safe.

I was with a group of kids, including a couple of kids a bit older than I was. We came upon a funny-looking mudpuddle, about two feet wide, and I decided to step in to check it out. I don’t remember why. Maybe I wanted to impress. Maybe I was curious. It only took a few seconds for me to sink in to right above my knees and then it was impossible to get out. The mud/quicksand held my legs in an iron grip. The fact that I stopped sinking around my knees might have been because my feet had hit solid ground. My friends tried to pull me up but could not get me up.

The older kids told me not to struggle and one of them ran to get my parents. They came running as fast as they could. My dad gripped me around the waist and slowly, bit by bit, he was able to pull me up. The rubber boots I was wearing stayed in the mud/quicksand. They might still be there like a fossil to be found by future inhabitants of our planet. Was it some sort of strange mud, or quicksand? I don’t know, but I remember being afraid. It taught me one lesson. Don’t step in funny looking mud puddles. In fact, maybe you shouldn’t step in mud at all unless you have to.

To see a list of the Super Facts click here