Sandboxes were invented by the ancient Romans in order to keep minute grains of sand as souvenirs from their travels. Their popular usage today derives from the fact that in order to sample a country, they could inspect their grain of sand, thus having an experience of the country without actually being there. Having said this, a sandbox also recalls the childhood box-like area filled with sand to play in that could be easily cleaned by either raking the sand smooth or just putting in more sand.