Die in a Fire

An extremely minor and easily overlooked detail in Super Mario 64 is that one of the four pillars in Shifting Sand Land actually has a different texture from the other three, being more visibly covered in sand. This is the pillar that is located in the quicksand near the Tox Box maze; it is also the only pillar that is lower than the other three, presumably due to having sunken into the quicksand.

While this may at first appear to be an oversight, it must be deliberate since the texture used for that pillar is unique and not used by any other object in the level. It seems that it was supposed to indicate that this pillar is less well-maintained than the others, with it being sunken into the quicksand, but the difference between the textures is so subtle that very few players would actually notice it during gameplay.

Source: its_mirrors