Laura Jean Smaglo, age 9, of West Mifflin, Pa., for her question:

Is quicksand really made of sand?

Some of these tricky booby traps are made of beach sand and tidal water. At certain times they may be safe to walk upon. But when the tide turns they become soupy mixtures too thick for swimming and too thin to hold the weight of people who tread upon them. A person trapped in this soggy sand may feel his body sucked downward. This is the pull of moving tidal water below the surface of the sand.

Other such soggy traps are made from mud and soil mixed with the water from a river, creek, lake or swamp. Some people call these muddy pitfalls bogs or swamps or quagmires. Others call them quicksands even when they are made from soil instead of sand. No matter what they are called all these soupy booby traps are extremely dangerous. There are many rules to save people from quicksands and their mushy cousins. Every smart young person learns and keeps these rules for his or her own protection.