Sandstone

Sandstone is a solid block, crafted by placing four blocks of sand in a crafting square, in a square shape (thus, it does not require a workbench.) Unlike regular sand Sandstone is not affected by gravity when the block beneath it is mined. It was added in the Beta 1.2 update on January 13th, 2011.

Placed Sandstone can be harvested with a pickaxe. When destroyed by hand, it is slightly stronger than wood; however this yields no block for you to replace. Its unique style allows for desert-themed architecture. Sandstone can be quickly obtained in order to build a shelter and survive the first night in Survival.

Sandstone is also unusually resistant to explosions; In some cases it will survive multiple creeper attacks, remaining in its' placed location while all other nearby blocks are destroyed.