Sponge

A Sponge is a block that can be used to remove water around itself when placed, turning into a Wet Sponge in the process.

Obtaining
Either type of sponge can be mined by hand, or with any tool, dropping itself as an item. Mining time is not affected by the tool used.

Drops
An elder guardian drops one wet sponge when killed by the player. Since elder guardians do not respawn, this does not make sponges renewable.

In 1.9, elder guardians will drop dry sponges instead.

Natural generation
Ocean monuments have a chance of spawning with a room containing wet sponges, usually having 15-30. More than one sponge room can be generated per monument.

Drying
A wet sponge can be dried in a furnace, making the sponge reusable.

Usage
A sponge can be used to turn water into air (it "absorbs" the water). To place a sponge, a sponge item while pointing at a surface facing the space the sponge should occupy.

A sponge instantly absorbs nearby water when it is placed next to water or when water comes into contact with it (by being placed next to the sponge, or by flowing towards it). A sponge absorbs water around itself (water source blocks or flowing water) out to a [//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/taxicab_distance taxicab distance] of 7 in all directions (including up and down), but won't absorb more than 65 blocks of water (water closest to the sponge will be absorbed first). The absorption only propagates from water to water and won't "jump over" non-water blocks (including air).

When a sponge absorbs water, it turns into a wet sponge, and will be incapable of absorbing more water in this state.

Data values
A sponge has the ID name  and is further defined by its block data. A sponge also has a block state which is expected to replace the functionality of block data in a future version.