Sand

granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles, sand particles range in diameter from 0.063 to 2 mm (per ISO 14688)

Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.

The crust of a tan man imbibed by the sand; soaking up the thirst of the land. ~ Ween

Quotes

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  • And it stood still upon the sand of the sea. And I saw a wild beast ascending out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, and upon its horns ten diadems, but upon its heads blasphemous names. Now the wild beast that I saw was like a leopard, but its feet were as those of a bear, and its mouth was as a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave to [the beast] its power and its throne and great authority.
  • For nature is the noblest engineer, yet uses a
    grinding economy working up all that is wasted
    to-day in to to-marrows creation;not a superfluous
    grain of sand for all ostentation she
    makes of expense and public works.
  • Unhappy they who raise their hopes upon the shifting sand.
  • I wrote my name upon the sand;
    I thought I wrote it on thine heart.
    I had no touch of fear, that words,
    Such words, so graven, could depart.
  • You may smile at the fanciful structures I rear,
    And say, that my castles are built but on sand ;
    Like bubbles, that on the blue waters appear,
    That sparkle, invite, and then sink from the hand.
  • The sand (Hindi: mitti) in the arena is especially holy to them. In Benares it [sand] comes from the Ganges and is mixed with Ganges water, mustard oil, and turmeric in order to keep it soft and supple. On special occasions, milk and clarified butter (ghi) are also added. The ground must be turned, loosened, and renewed periodically. Only the master (Hindi:ustad) is allowed to enter the new sand after he has honoured it with flowers and incense. The young men not only rub themselves with sand, they also wallow in it. Sand is the balm for their heroism.
  • The crust of a tan man imbibed by the sand; soaking up the thirst of the land.
    • Ween, "Ocean Man", The Mollusk (1997), New York: Elektra Entertainment Group
  • For Look! Within my hallow hand,
    While round the earth careens,
    I hold a single grain of sand
    And wonder what it means.
    Ah! If I had the eyes to see,
    And brain to understand,
    I think the Life’s mystery might be
    Solved in the grain of sand.
  • The birth of a sand grain is a microscopic event, a flap of butterfly’s wings heralding greater change and a larger creation. Each grain carries the equivalent of the DNA of its parents and develops a character through its life and is moulded partly by its environment. Compared to the scale of a human life, however, the sand grains’ story is never ending, and rebirth is a regular event.
  • The sand grain is anonymous, waiting for rain and wind to sweep it away on an endless journey, to demonstrate its durability while its weaker companions fall by the way side. But it is called sand not because of what it is made of or its origins, bit because of how big it is.
  • There are countless sand collectors around the world, and there have been for a long time. …Sand collectors call themselves as arenophiles or “sand lovers”- a mixture of Latin and Greek. The word arena derives from the ancient Roman habit of covering the ground in amphitheaters with sand (harena or arena in Latin) – to soak up blood. The pure Greek would be psammophile, and some sand collectors use this but it is commonly used also to describe plants and creatures that are sand-loving, forging a livelihood among the grains.
  • Reflecting its potential fluidity and fickleness, sand, as the quintessential granular material, has become a symbol of instability and impermanence. The biblical admonition against building a house on sand may be exaggerated.

See also

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  •   Encyclopedic article on Sand on Wikipedia
  •   The dictionary definition of sand on Wiktionary