This is one of those flashbacks that I’ve been carrying around in my noggin almost since the beginning of this series. I haven’t written about it until now because I couldn’t remember exactly what it was called (you know, because it has such a difficult name to remember) and so I couldn’t locate any information on it. Plus, I was too busy unlocking my inner Trek geek that I couldn’t be bothered to figure it out.
Then I just happened to type in “pour colored sand into water” in Google and bam…or rather WHAM-O. I found my flashback! Magic Sand!!
Wham-O, the company most famous in my mind for their Frisbees, marketed Magic Sand back in the early 1980s. According to this Neatorama.com page:
Magic Sand is ordinary beach sand coated with tiny particles of pure silica, then exposing them to vapors of a silicon compound called trimethylhydroxysilane. The result is a hydrophobic or water-hating sand: when exposed to water, the sand would “stick” to each other rather than to the water, and therefore remain dry.
Originally created as a means of trapping oil spills (so sayeth Wikipedia), this hydrophobic sand was deemed too expensive to produce for such a namby-pamby tree-hugger purpose. So the capitalists got hold of it and turned it into a financial bonanza aimed at the most awesomest marketing group imaginable: kids! After all, what parent can withstand the repetitive torture of a kid who reallyreallyreallyreally wants something?
I remember loving my Magic Sand. I received the kit one Christmas, so I had all four colors: red, yellow, green, and blue. The anal-retentive side of me prevented me from mixing the colors at first. Yes, I was a Magic Sand segregationist. For about a minute. It was just too much fun mixing and swirling the colors to keep them separated for long. It was also too difficult to keep them in their respective bottles. I mean, look at that design! Great for squirting the sand into the water…not so great when antsy little hands are trying to get the sand back in. After a while, all four colors of Magic Sand ended up in one big Ziploc baggie.
I wish I could remember what happened to my Magic Sand. It was such a cool thing for an introverted only child…I loved building little underground cities or strange abstract designs. It was one of those great “quiet time” activities that would keep me occupied for hours. At this point in my life, Magic Sand sounds like it would hold quite the relaxing Zen quality to it. I could pull out a bottle during staff meetings and just squirt my way to serenity.
Wait. That sounded really bad.
I just did a search on Amazon.com for Magic Sand. Apparently, it’s now being marketed as “Aqua Sand,” “Mars Sand,” or “Space Sand.” Whatever they’re calling it now, I’m quite surprised and admittedly a little excited to see that it’s still on the market. I might just have to treat myself to some. I did get an Amazon gift card for Christmas that I’ve yet to use…
