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Compilation of sources on sponge behavior in MC
Minecraft Wiki: Sponge
URL: https://https://minecraft.fandom.com/wiki/Sponge
Absorbing
- Turns water (nodes) into air (nodes).
- Instantly absorbs water when placed next to water, or when water comes into contact with it
- Immediately turns wet (into Wet Sponge) upon absorption, does not absorb more water afterwards
- Wet Sponges drip water particles
- Sponge in item form does not absorb water nor become wet
- Absorb flowing and source water:
- Up to 7 blocks away (taxicab distance)
- In all six (cardinal?) directions
- Closest blocks absorbed first
- Between adjacent water blocks (cannot reach through/across non-water blocks)
- Does not absorb more than 135 blocks of water (contested)
- Wiki page history indicates first update to taxicab7 behavior associated with 65-block maximum.
- Edit on 2021-Oct-14 links to a video indicating 135 blocks absorted not 65 (see SixthofSeven entry below)
Mob Loot
- Always dropped by Elder Guardian upon death
- May be found in Ocean Monuments, in sponge rooms; up to 30 sponges per room.
- Mix of dry + wet?
Smelting/Drying
- Furnace; empty bucket in fuel slot to (re)capture water (empty bucket → water bucket)
- Nether - instant drying when placed, puff of steam
- (Specific to Bedrock Edition, dries out in Overworld dry biomes)
Youtube +vergeofapathy
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L133yLQGJaU
Youtube video from 2014 Sep 27 (about the timeframe between last of 1.8 and first of 1.8.1).
Absorption
- Absorbs 65 blocks, with video evidence, timestop, manual counting, and editor-count. Proclaims wiki is wrong (at the time wavering between claiming 5³ and taxicab5 max 65).
- On reflection after SixthofSeven's videos, counting of absorption happens on a plane, not volumetric. Also, planar containment is 9×9, not 15×15, leaving ambiguous whether distance limit or count limit was reached first.
- On freeze frame of volumetric sponge absorption, pattern appears to approximate a radius-4 octahedron (which would be 63 blocks including center).
- Demonstrates block-adjacency rule with sharp-bend water flow.
Youtube +RajCraft
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy5RD42e6Vg
Youtube video from 2020 Mar 26 (timeframe of MC 1.16 20w13a)
Absorption
- Verbally claims 65 blocks while placing sponges in shallow water. Blocks are probably countable from freeze frames.
- Also planar absorption (water 1-block deep).
Gamezo article
URL: https://gamezo.co.uk/minecraft-sponge-guide-everything-you-need-to-know/
Article/guide from 2020 Dec 12 (timeframe of MC 1.16.4)
Absorption
- Claims 65 blocks maximum
- Wet Sponge in Overworld dry biome instantly dries (no qualification about Bedrock Edition)
- Claims Wet Sponge emits war particles -- I'm assuming this is a misspelling of "water".
Tynker, Minecraft Sponge
URL: https://www.tynker.com/minecraft/blocks/view/sponge/sponge
Absorption
- Described as 5×5×5 volume around sponge.
- Mentions v 1.8 (0.0.18a_02 specifically)
- MC wiki History Notes place the appearance of taxicab7 behavior at 1.8_25a
Youtube +SixthofSeven
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUsegPeLOpQ
This video was tracked by combing through the MC wiki history. Update on 2021 Oct 14 links to this video (timeframe of MC 1.17 and 1.18-prerelease).
- At first glance, volumetric absorption pattern appears to be deterministic (no random/probabilistic paths); but sample size is 16 with constantly changing camera view.
- Claims channel banner shows layer-by-layer view of the absorption pattern.
- (if so) Vaguely appears to be in the shape of a dumbbell (Figure-8, hourglass, p-orbital).
- (if so) Thus the pattern is radially asymmetric. (wtf!)
- (if so) y-axis (vertical) apparently runs +/-3; presumably emergent from max-absorption limit.
- Also claims behavior along z axis differ from behavior along x axis.
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW7Dv5Al0DU
- Demonstration of weirdness with sponge in planar absorption, pattern is not centered on the sponge itself, but one node off.
- Demonstration of differing behavior along z (north-south) and x (west-east) axis; z-aligned trenching ideal to leverage wider x-axis reach.