In wartime, seemingly small things can have large meanings. So it was with an Army helicopter recently returned to the U.S. from Iraq for refurbishing. As Pamela Hess of UPI reported, the helicopter already had been cleaned and stripped before it was shipped back to the States. Nonetheless, when technicians took it apart, more than 230 pounds of sand spilled out of the cockpit.

http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/2006/06/1813594