Beaches, sandpits, castles...

February 26, 2003 3:36 PM

What do you think of when you consider... sand Some beautiful pictures of sand under a microscope, as well as description of what sand is...
posted by darsh (9 comments total)

That's the most interesting thing I've read all day. Thank you, darsh. One thing this site doesn't mention is "singing sand", the sort which makes a high-pitched noise when you walk on it - I've always wondered what causes this.
posted by Bletch at 4:00 PM on February 26, 2003

My wife and I have been collecting sand for several years now. It sounds like a really boring hobby, however we end up trekking quite a ways off the beaten path just to get to a novel patch of sand. Hawaii has some great sand to collect, with black, red, and green sand beaches.

Check out the gallery from the International Sand Collectors Society. I especially like the star sand.
posted by phatboy at 4:08 PM on February 26, 2003

Sadly, the first thing I think of is

Padme :We used to come here for school retreat. We would swim to that island every day. I love the water. We used to lie out on the sand and let the sun dry us and try to guess the names of the birds singing.
Anakin: I don't like sand.
posted by jearbear at 4:57 PM on February 26, 2003

Joyously, the first thing I think of is:

Inmate: ...and when there was no meat we ate fowl; and when there was no fowl we ate crawdad; and when there was no crawdad to be found, we ate sand.
Hi: You ate what?
Inmate: We ate sand.
Hi: You ate sand?
Inmate: That's right.
posted by tdstone at 5:06 PM on February 26, 2003

What is singing sand? Ask Dr. Dune!
posted by G_Ask at 8:06 PM on February 26, 2003

Well, I know I can't be the only one whose first thought was:

"So the next time you're walking on the beach, enjoying an hourglass, or making cheap, low-grade windshields, think where we'd be without sand!" (4F21)
posted by llamateur at 8:39 PM on February 26, 2003

One day I visited, together with Alie, one of my girlfriends, a rather large sandpit in the north- eastern part of Holland near Emmen. When we explained why we would like to gather some sand samples, we got permission to look around and take what we wanted.

is this guy a player or WHAT?
posted by oog at 9:32 PM on February 26, 2003

Thanks, darsh - dangerous post! I could so easily get carried away.
posted by MiguelCardoso at 11:15 PM on February 26, 2003

"singing sand", the sort which makes a high-pitched noise when you walk on it - I've always wondered what causes this.


posted by Fabulon7 at 6:12 AM on February 27, 2003