i understand what he wants. he thinks that sponge should be able to absorb most or all liquids and thinks sand should have those same properties but only very limited. which makes sense.
hmm, i think there would be uses for this. temperature contol for instance. water filters is another for instance. not to mention making things saturated with oil. sand saturated with oil would make the sand flammable until the oil is out of it. that could have some uses too. i can see a lot of potential with this.