Sand Art Gifts: Sand Stories

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SAND STORIES

BOOMing Gobi Desert Dunes, Mongolia

The "Singing & Booming" SAND Phenomenon

   Scientists have a difficult time explaining the mysterious sounds that some beaches and sand dunes create when walked upon or blown around by winds. In some deserts, large sand mountains 'BOOM' when a sand-slide occurs! Scrolls and manuscripts have recorded people witnessing these phenomena as far back as the first writings on papyrus in the Ancient Egyptian civilization. These sounds have even been worshipped by some religions...They have been described as barking, booming, singing, whistling, and croaking like a toad. Some sands reflect shimmers of light, especially at night, when walked on or driven across. More than 30 singing beaches & booming dunes are found in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe. An excellent example of this is in Death Valley National Park, California. The Eureka Valley dunes (tallest in North America) create a sonic 'BOOM' when they slip - you can also feel the ground tremble & shake!

   In Japan there is a famous singing sand at Kotogahama Beach (Koto means "Japanese harp")...It is so respected that the Nima Sand Museum was built there and opened in March 1991. It is designed as a group of six glass pyramids (because melted sand becomes glass). Inside the Largest structure (over 60 feet tall) is the World's Largest Sand Hourglass: 5 meters high & 1 meter wide! Literally a ton (over 2,200 pounds) of sand perpetually pours from the upper to the lower bulb. It takes exactly one year to pour completely through. Amazingly, almost every grain has been measured to about 0.13 millimeters, insuring even flow and exact time accuracy. A group of people turn it over exactly at midnight on the last day each year; this is why it is known as the "1 Year Sand clock". Underneath this architectural marvel is a learning center for both adults and children.

World's Largest "Hourglass" Nima Museum Pyramid Building

The "Ocean Dome": Amazing Indoor Beach...

The World’s Largest indoor water park is the “Ocean Dome” in Miyazaki, Japan. This amazing structure is 300 meters long, 100 meters wide, has the World's Largest retractable roof, and could fit 10 football fields inside! Up to 10,000 people can enjoy year-round perfect weather and 450 sq. ft. of Beach = 600 tons (over 1.3 million lbs.) of white marble sand… There is a natural beach a mere short walk behind it, and it is almost deserted (as seen below)... Periodically, a ‘volcano’ erupts false fire & smoke; enormous vacuum pumps create 10 ft. waves (with the 13,500 tons of chlorinated water) on which pro surfers rip to entertain the beachgoers. In addition, there is simulated white-water rafting (via virtual reality), slides, water cannons, kiddie pools, falls, and fountains…

Within this architectural marvel are boutiques, tropical themed bars, and even a train ride through a faux rain forest with ancient-looking Cambodian & Thai statues…riders experience holographic pirates, mechanical chirping parrots, dinosaurs, and even demons. Each afternoon the complex is transformed into a carnival-like mood, featuring dancers and musicians wearing Caribbean costumes. Nightly, there is a stage show with aquatic performers - as laser lights flicker throughout the indoor “paradise”.

World's Largest indoor water park, Roof open

Inside Ocean Dome: 1-of-A-Kind Beach

Check this out: When a grain of sand enters an oyster shell, it irritates the membrane... The pain is relieved by surrounding the "trespassing nuisance" with a substance secreted from the shell, eventually forming a precious PEARL ~ natural jewels from the Ocean! That is why the shiny interior part of the shell is called the "Mother of Pearl" layer... Black pearls are especially sought after, because those oysters are extremely rare.