Out of these 2 which do you think would be the worse? Both situations have the humiliation factor of being watched and laughed at by strangers but for me buried in sand would be worse as you would be far more restricted with not being able to move except your head and feet and there would be no way to hide your face. At least in stocks you could thrash about a bit more to try and alleviate the tickling and put your head down so your embarrassing facial expressions are somewhat hidden.