Crying Obsidian[1] refers to a leaked, abandoned project by Jeb[2] to implement a change-spawn obelisk.[3]

This texture was added in Beta 1.3 but was never used in the game. It closely resembles obsidian. It also appears to be a sandstone or a bedrock texture modified to look like obsidian. It is also known as Bleeding Obsidian among many members for its appearance.

In Beta 1.5, the texture slot for crying obsidian was replaced by a grayscale replacement of the side of grassy dirt blocks, which is used for biome-compliant grassy dirt block sides.

Its original purpose was to set a new respawn point, but was abandoned after the introduction of beds.[4] It would have been crafted with an obsidian block and lapis lazuli.[5]

Trivia

• The Crying Obsidian texture still exists in the Minecraft Pocket Edition terrain.png file. (both platforms)
  
• It also looks (very closely) like a Soul Sand block overlaid with the ore part of Lapis Lazuli.