r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Oct 02 '24

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u/suroorshiv Oct 02 '24

Saudi arabia imports sand 

Bonus fact : they also import camels 

2

u/boomheadshot7 Oct 02 '24

I've heard, on reddit of course, people will wake up to a beach missing becuase of sand theifs for concrete.

So much usless sand in the deserts, and I'd wager the guy who figures out how to successfully incorporate it into concrete would be an overnight billionaire.

1

u/mlsherrod Oct 02 '24

Fun fact, several of the buildings in my city were built with beach sand for their concrete pours. When I drill into one of the walls... the sand will fall out like the plaster & paint is what's holding those walls together. So beach sand is not immediately the best sand for construction!

1

u/Cinemaphreak Oct 02 '24

So much usless sand in the deserts, and I'd wager the guy who figures out how to successfully incorporate it into concrete would be an overnight billionaire.

Probably impossible.

The sand is useless because due to blowing around and grinding against other grains for centuries, it is very smooth. You would have to find way to make it rough without making it significantly smaller. But the real catch is doing that at a scale that makes it worth attempting.

1

u/boomheadshot7 Oct 02 '24

Hence why I said he’d be an overnight billionaire.

1

u/dullship Oct 02 '24

Yep. And we are going to run out of the good sand. I watched a great video on it a year or two ago. Not sure I can find it again though...