A soft, gooey, gelatinous, hydrophobic substance used to flood outside plant (OSP) cables to protect them from moisture and even standing water. Moisture can cause electrical noise and short circuits in copper cables, ice crush in fiber optic cables, and can cause cable sheaths to crack in subfreezing temperature conditions. An alternative to the unpleasantly gooey and sticky gel is a dry powdered compound that becomes a water-blocking gel on contact with moisture. See also icky-pic and OSP.