It’s pretty simple. I think a lot of sports could benefit from the addition of several patches of quicksand to the playing field. For example, in baseball you could place a couple patches in random spots in the outfield, cover all of foul territory, and maybe a small spot or two in the infield. On defense, the players would have to learn to avoid the spots, and how to react to a ball that lands in or is slowed by the quicksand. On offense, certain situations would call for the batter to try to hit the ball into or near a patch of quicksand. A ball that becomes stuck in the sand could count as a ground-rule single or double depending on where the sand is located (infield = single, outfield = double). I suppose there would be a number of special rules that would have to be developed, but you get the point.
The proper placement of the sand patches would serve to hinder only the defensive players, thereby boosting scores (fans love high scoring), and it would add a whole new dimension to the home field advantage. This could definitely be adapted to other sports as well, perhaps with different effects on the game. Soccer, football, tennis, and of course, sand volleyball would all be more exciting with some quicksand!-- luecke, Jun 08 2004 Bad Science in adventure movies http://science.hows....com/quicksand2.htm...wish I could mfd them [yabba do yabba dabba, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 17 2004] "The crowd is hushed as Tiger receives a sand wedge from his caddie, he addresses the ball...and he's up to his arm pits." "He really should have been using his inflatable cleats."-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jun 08 2004 [yabba] I don’t understand what you are wanting to mfd… Your link clarified my perceptions about quicksand. If you step in it, your foot (at least) will go in, and it is difficult to pull your foot back out (due to the suction produced). I’m not looking to have people completely swallowed up by the quicksand – just slowed down and/or distracted.-- luecke, Jun 08 2004 I'm not looking to mfd you--just the Indiana Jones-type movies that made me so scared of quicksand. Sorry for any confusion.-- yabba do yabba dabba, Jun 08 2004 random, halfbakery