Awesome Sand

Not many of us will ever see the vibrant red sand and soil of Iran’s Hormuz Island in person. This footage posted by local tour guide Omid Badroj shows what it looks like in a thunderstorm, as the water makes it look like blood running down a cliff. High concentrations of iron ochre give the sand its crimson color.

Leave your mark on the beach with these sand spheres from Olander Earthworks. Each concrete sphere is textured to make patterns in the sand. Designs include snakeskin, footprints, greebles, spirals, waves, and more. Available in four sizes, from 1 3/4″ to 3 1/16″ diameter. They also sell trays and microfine sand for tabletop zen gardens.

We’ve heard the phrase “singing sands” but never really knew what it meant. James from Atomic Frontier headed to Australia to explore why some sand makes a squeaking noise when you walk on it. After putting some of the rare squeaky sand beneath a microscope, he explains how sand dune can make a much larger sound under the right conditions.

This unique and eye-catching lighter is filled with fluid and luminous sand that glows in the dark and flows when you turn it. We’re not sure it’s a legit Zippo product, but you can take your chances from Lighter Boutique’s website or one of these generic ones we found on Amazon if you’re willing to give it a shot.

We’ve seen machines that can draw patterns in sand, but this is the first time we’ve spotted one that was built using LEGO Technic components.  Brick Machines created this sand art machine with a magnetic assembly that moves along a set of custom aluminum rails using corkscrew gears driven by a Mindstorms controller and tech from PyBricks,

Next time you visit the beach, don’t take all of the sand home with you. CGEAR’s Sandlite beach mats have a patented layered weave that lets grains of sand flow through, keeping it free of sand, dirt, and dust. The mats come in 5’1″ x 6’6″ and 6’6″ x 6’6″ sizes in various colors. Great for picnics, too.

Originally known as Setris, the puzzle game Sandtrix is a unique Tetris variant where the blocks are made out of sand, so they crumble on impact. It adds a new dimension to the classic puzzler and is surprisingly fun to play. There’s a web version, or you can download it for Windows or Linux on Itch.io.

Brick Technology has a keen interest in testing LEGO cars in all kinds of driving environments. This time they take a look at what it takes to give LEGO vehicles enough traction, mass, and stability to be able to traverse a sand-filled pit reliably. As you’ll see, it’s not just as simple as going with four-wheel drive.

The sand castles we built when we were kids were basic structures in the shape of buckets. On the other hand, Leonardo Ugolini uses sand to make true works of art. In this time-lapse video by Ivents Kulturagentur, Ugolini built a sculpture of one of the sandworms from 2021’s Dune, using sand from the movie’s set.

The HoMedics Drift is a production version of those sand drawing machines we’ve seen before. This soothing and meditative gizmo uses a ball bearing to draw endless geometric patterns in the sand. It also has colorful RGB lighting, and its designs can be controlled via a companion mobile app. Available in 16″ and 21″ sizes.

When companies mine the ground for precious minerals, what do they do with the materials they dug up and didn’t use? In the case of one kaolin mine in Bavaria, Germany, you turn the leftovers into a slope for sandboarders and skiers. Tom Scott takes us on a journey to the Monte Kaolino theme park.

Designer Yuki Kawae shared this soothing and relaxing video of patterns he created in his coffee table zen garden. With a slow and steady hand, Kawae used rakes of various sizes and spacing to achieve a number of intriguing and hypnotic geometric patterns.

Artist Leonardo Ugolini is known for building intricate sandcastles and sand sculptures. In this video, he shows off a beachside version of the Millennium Falcon, while narrating his process with the most soothing voice. Check out Leonardo’s TikTok channel for more of his incredible sand creations.

Using parts from a 3D printer, custom laser-cut components, and LED lighting RCLifeOn created this mechanical table that uses a magnet and a ball bearing to draw complex patterns in sand, only to erase everything it doodles. On the plus side, as soon as it wipes out an image, it gets to work on another.

Sand plotters are machines that moves a magnet and a ball bearing to draw geometric patterns in the sand. These machines usually move pretty slowly. On the other hand, Mark Rehorst’s large version draws very quickly, hypnotizing the cat who sits on the glass above it.

A while back, maker Ivan Miranda built himself a robot which could write words in the sand. He’s back to build an upgraded version of the machine which can draw much faster than the previous one. It uses 50 mini servos to doodle, two mini tanks to drive, and Arduino Mega controllers for its digital brains.