| “ |
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„ | |
| — Tom Stone[1] |
| “ |
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„ | |
| — Searge[2] |
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.
| Block | Sponge Wet Sponge | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardness | 0.6 | |
| Breaking time (secs) | ||
| Default | 0.9 | |
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.
Natural generation
Ocean monuments have a chance of spawning with or without one or more rooms containing wet sponges. Each room contains an average of 30 sponges.
Drying
A wet sponge can be dried in a furnace, making the sponge reusable.
| Ingredients | Smelting recipe | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Wet Sponge + Any fuel |
If a bucket is in the fuel slot at the time the sponge completes its drying, the water will drain into the bucket, leaving a bucket of water in the fuel slot. Otherwise, the water just evaporates. |
Usage
A sponge absorbing water in a lake.
A sponge can be used to turn water into air (it "absorbs" the water). To place a sponge, use 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 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 minecraft:sponge 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.
Block data
| DV | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Sponge | |
| 1 | Wet Sponge |
Block state
| Name | Metadata Bits | Default value | Allowed values | Values for Metadata Bits |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sponge_type | 0x1 | dry
| dry | 0 | Sponge |
wet | 1 | Wet Sponge |
Achievements
| Icon | Achievement | In-game description | Actual requirements (if different) | Gamerscore earned | Trophy type (PS4) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PS4 | Other | |||||
| Dry Spell | Dry a sponge in a furnace | — | 15G | Bronze | ||
Video
Sponge/video
History
| classic | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 24, 2009 | Sponge was suggested on the TIGSource forums. | ||||
| 0.0.18a_02 | Sponge block test. | ||||
| 0.0.19a | File:Sponge (Indev).png Added sponge. The sponge was a temporary fix to stop water from flooding until finite water was implemented. It soaked up water in a 5×5×5 volume around it. Sponges did not need light to survive, and would decay. | ||||
| 0.0.19a_06 | Sponges no longer decay. | ||||
| infdev | |||||
| ? | Sponges became non-functional and available only by inventory editing. | ||||
| alpha | |||||
| ? | A sponge could be used in redstone builds for updating blocks, in conjunction with BUDs (block update detectors): if a sponge was placed and then removed, all blocks within its 5×5×5 range would be updated. The cause of this was some remaining code for the sponge's water removing property. | ||||
| beta | |||||
| 1.8 | Sponges became available in Creative mode. | ||||
| release | |||||
| 1.2.1 | 12w07a | Sponges would no longer update blocks within their 5×5×5 range. | |||
| 1.8 | June 8, 2014 | Jeb tweeted that the ability to erase water blocks would be returned to the sponge. The linked image revealed that the sponge would have a new texture which becomes darker once it absorbs water. | |||
| 14w25a | |||||
| 14w25b | Wet sponges, when smelted, will fill an empty bucket in the fuel slot with water. | ||||
| 1.9 | 15w43a | Elder guardians will now drop dry sponges instead of wet ones. | |||
| 1.11 | 16w33a | Elder guardians now drop wet sponges on player kills, rather than dry sponges.[3] | |||
| Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||
| 0.8.0 | build 2 | File:Sponge (Indev).pngAdded sponges to Creative mode. | |||
| 0.16.0 | build 1 | ||||
| Wet sponges, when smelted, will fill an empty bucket in the fuel slot with water. | |||||
| Legacy Console Edition | |||||
| TU5 | CU1 | 1.0 | Patch 1 | Added sponges to Creative mode. | |
| TU28 | CU16 | 1.19 | Updated texture. | ||
| TU31 | CU19 | 1.22 | Patch 3 | Sponges are now obtainable in Survival Mode, and now soak up contiguous water source blocks out to a taxicab distance of 7 when placed, thereupon turning into the new wet sponge. | |
Issues
Issues relating to "Sponge" or "Wet Sponge" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.
Gallery
- Picture 2.png
An example of sponges keeping an area dry in Minecraft Classic.
Sponges in the creative inventory in the Adventure Update.


