What if I told you there’s a kind of sand that’s way more interesting than what you can find on the beach? It’s called kinetic sand, and there has been a recent rise in videos about it.
The material is pretty much just like normal sand, but with 2 percent polydimethylsiloxane thrown in. This type of silicone oil makes the product constantly feel and behave like it’s wet sand — except for the fact that it doesn’t stick to anything but itself, which makes it exceedingly fun to play with and build stuff.
The Instagram account @sand.isfying is dedicated to posting clips of the weird substance getting cut into pieces, and they’re incredibly satisfying to watch.
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The videos are great for triggering Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response or ASMR, a type of satisfying reaction incited by a visual or auditory stimulus. This kind of ‘brain tingle’ is normally triggered by specific sounds like whispering or scratching, but this account proves it also works when cutting kinetic sand.
For example, take a look at this pink block being thinly sliced:
Or see this green sand cake slowly being destroyed by an iron loop:
A few tiny cuts in a dog bone shape:
Even a spoon scooping out some sand is nice to look at:
In an attempt to make the account even more satisfying, the videos are uploaded with alternating pink and green sand:
If that’s not enough for you, be sure to check out @sand.isfying or hop over to YouTube for more general ASMR videos.
In Japan, SEGA even created an arcade game that lets players build an island on a platform and maps video on top of it to create an interactive sand world. It looks like ASMR heaven:
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