Sponge

Sponge is a utility block which is primarily used for clearing and blocking the flow of fluids.

Behaviour
When a Sponge is placed, it will immediately clear any Water or Lava in a 5x5x5 cube around the sponge and replace them with Air. This means there is always at least two blocks of air between the sponge and any fluids around it. Additionally, Water and Lava will not flow closer than two blocks near to a sponge, which means that the immediate area around the sponge will remain free of fluids until the sponge is destroyed.