Q & A
日本語
- How to restore the sound-producing properties of silent musical sand (from Mr. Toshifumi Nishimori)
When I visited Ishikawa Prefecture, I went to Kotogahama beach in Monzen town, but as expected, the sand would not sing.
It was disappointing, but at that time I remembered seeing on TV that "if you wash dirty musical sand, it will sing again" (after gathering information on the web, it seems it was from the program "Science Eye" supervised by Dr. Miwa), so I brought a small amount back to try washing it myself. However, I didn't know how to wash it, and when I tried to gather information, I found Dr. Miwa's homepage.
The content was very intriguing, and I was able to gain even more interest and knowledge about musical sand, which I didn't have much of before. But unfortunately, regarding the washing of musical sand, it seems only a "milling machine" is mentioned in "How to Make Frog Sand."
I couldn't find "The Disappearing Song of the White Sand - A Musical Sand Fantasy" at my local library, so I plan to visit neighboring libraries, but if possible, could you please give me some advice on the washing method? Of course, just suggesting a reference would be more than enough. Thank you in advance.
Lastly, I think this is a very useful homepage, and I sincerely hope it will be further enriched in the future.
- Why not try restoring it by boiling? (from Dr. Miwa)
I'm delighted that you've taken an interest in musical sand. On my webpage, in the text of my final lecture, I wrote:
"Above all, boiling the sand in distilled water was the most effective method. Sand that is not yet heavily contaminated can be restored by boiling."
Other methods are difficult. The Gomeki beach in Monzen town should be restorable just by boiling. However, when you dry it, please be sure to dry it on oil-free paper, not on newspaper. I wish you success.
My webpage can be found by searching "鳴き砂 三輪茂雄" (Musical Sand Shigeo Miwa) on Goo.
- Reply (from Mr. Toshifumi Nishimori)
The musical sand sang! I am the one who was taught how to wash the musical sand from Gomeki beach. As you instructed, I was able to restore it to musical sand by boiling and washing it.
I was wondering what to do about distilled water, but I bought purified water at a pharmacy. When I first started boiling it in a pot, bubbles started rising vigorously, the stove rattled, and sand scattered all around. So next, I tried putting it in a kettle, which turned out to be a pretty good idea. After changing the water twice and boiling it for about 3 hours, I dried it, put it in an empty jam jar, and pressed it with the end of a marker pen. "Squeak, squeak..." Huh? The washing might not be sufficient yet, but it certainly sang right before my eyes.
I learned that it is truly a difficult task to restore something that has become dirty. I don't think I can do anything immediately, but I hope to visit another musical sand beach someday and help restore it to a beach that sings just by walking on it, like in the old days.
I've written a long message, but thank you very much for your help this time.
#If you have a lecture in the Tokyo area, I would love to attend.
