@antisocial-gamer7293
I would never have thought that a highstreet clothing store was archiving stuff in a used mine deep underground
@NextianGeometry
Out of all the possibilities of who could invite Tom Scott to make a video about a vast subterranean archive in a salt mine, I would never have guessed "Laura Ashley".
@adamplace1414
Since Tom mentioned tasting salt in the active areas of the mine, I wonder how hydrated the miners have to be during their shift? I mean they're not going to desiccate or anything, but it would make you awfully thirsty after a while I'd imagine.
@newq
There's another facility like this in Kansas, but they do daily public tours of the mine and the archives. They've got a bunch of interesting things on display including famous movie props. Highly recommended. Interestingly, it still smells like the ancient ocean that formed the salt deposit down there, which is the most surreal thing. Being hundreds of feet underground in Kansas and you smell the ocean.
@FiXato
This reminded me of my visit to the salt mines of Wieliczka, Poland. Absolutely gorgeous what they did in those, with statues made out of salt along the corridors, and even an entire underground cathedral, complete with salt crystal chandeliers. If I ever get the chance again, I'd love to revisit that place. Not in the least to smell that easy to breathe salty air again
@domainofscience
This is like a level from Goldeneye.
@LPNeogetz
It's always striking to me to see how stable the salt rock must be that so many salt mines have these massive open rooms and corridors, vs what I think of when imagining a standard mine with narrow tunnels and bracing supports everywhere.
@Van-Leo
sometimes i just go blank faced and wide eyed when i think about how everything exists all at once independently equally as visceral as anything i have experienced and will never experience. all of the objects ive ever owned and lost are still out there, or at least their matter is, the atoms that held them never stopped existing. everything in that vault is the exact feeling i am describing.
@zacherybarcoe9219
Everyone's hometown has that one thing that everyone who lives there knows about and winsford we all grow up learning about the salt mine and deep store, and I'm so glad Tom has finally been able to make a video about it, showing the world our little towns big story
@evando2006
I love how Tom has visited an archive facility and not brought his archivist mate, everybody's favourite Garry Brannan, Gary Brannan along.
@Rei-Rei
I hope they have a very good indexing system. If there's anything that's misplaced it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack the size of the moon.
@djnebuchanezzer
Without gong into too much detail, some of things stored in there are: Antiques Archaeological dig Items Evidence rooms for Greater Machester, Norfolk and Suffolk Police Results from practical scientific experiments The archives from the House of Commons And a lot of other stuff too. What Tom did not mention are 2 things i find quite interesting. The mineshaft is as deep as Blackpool tower is tall and there is over 130 miles of roadway under there, and the machinery and vehicles depending on the size have to be assembled once they are down there, and because it is salt, if they were to ever be brought back to the surface the weather would turn them to rust in no time at all.
@Davemon115
Wild to think that there's a real-world equivalent to how I've been keeping my items organized in Terraria, and as a (primarily digital, admittedly) archivist at heart, I love knowing the purpose these spaces are being used for.
@chriswilliamson199
I used to service and repair the generators underground at that salt mine, did they take you out to a side shaft and turn the lights off? Your eyes never adjust, it is total darkness. Did they mention the amount of waste they also store down the mine? They store large 2m square bags of (I think) incineration waste that's not suitable for landfill. That area goes as far as the eye can see. I also remember one of the employees telling me some time ago that there was a suggestion to have a prison down there but it was denied due to the prisoners needing a certain amount of sunlight by law.
@DeadEyeJedi
It says a lot for the respect that you've earned that you get to see awesome places like this. I'll admit to being kind of jealous, but you've definitely earned it.
@secretforreddit
I'm training to be an archivist so this is extra fascinating for me; I can only dream I'll someday get to visit it (or at least something similar, if anything similar exists)!
@ShibalNL
Wow Colin Furze really went all out with his tunnels
@MandBTravelAdventures
I used to be an agency driver for deepstore and I always wondered what it was like down there. Now I know, thanks Tom
@Bigjobs
I've been on a tour down there. We got to see the working face as the continuous mining machine was digging away, it was awesome to see. We got to see them putting together the second continuous mining machine (that should let the mine know when this was). They drove us around and showed us the old machinery that was used before the continuous miner was put into action. The American managing director at the time was over and was on that tour also. They obviously don't do public tours, but from what I understand, as I was invited along by a friend and didn't actually know anyone else in the group, it was all arranged as someone in the group had convinced the mine that we were in the market to buy half a million tonnes of salt. I don't know how accurate that part was, but that's what was relayed to me.
@TomScottGo