True Darkness

[grumpy52]

Seeing the trailers for the latest reality claptrap where people are left in true darkness got me wondering how many have experienced true darkness?
In most situations you grow used to the situation and start to see something due to even the lowest of background light .
Yes I have experienced total darkness, in a past life I worked for an industrial blinds company , one of our contacts was for Kodak Labs where amongst other things we did the blackout blinds in their dark room labs .
Once fitted out we would sit in the sealed up labs with some of Kodak's measuring devices that measured any available light .
True darkness can be very disorientating , a couple of our guys used to become quite ill after any more than ten minutes, something like a inner ear problem that effects balance and causes nausea. The same ones were ill on a company trip on a boat one Christmas.
Any others have any experience.
From what I have seen the filming of the series was done in one of the hangers at Cardington in Bedfordshire where the R100 & R101 airships were housed , I used to live opposite the hangers .
It's also where the original Goodyear airships were developed.

[King David]

Back as an irresponsible youth I used to explore abandoned slate mines in Wales. You’d find an entrance and then make you way down a few levels to get to the exit.

Utter complete darkness in there - it feels physically heavy.

I always quite liked it. Not sure how I would have felt of the torches had failed though…

[GAjon]

If you visit the Blue John mines in Derbyshire, on the tour they have an area where they turn all lights off to demonstrate true darkness.

They don’t do it long as it can freak people out.

[vaud]

Have done when caving (when I was much younger). It is slightly freaky.

[underwhelmist]

Years ago I worked at a warehouse where shipping containers were loaded up. Early on I was told that I had to be shut in a container to ensure it was airtight and watertight. Of course no light got in there either, it was completely dark.

They let me out after 10 minutes or so, it only occurred to me afterwards that I was probably having my leg pulled.

[jimmytheone]

underwhelmist said:

Years ago I worked at a warehouse where shipping containers were loaded up. Early on I was told that I had to be shut in a container to ensure it was airtight and watertight. Of course no light got in there either, it was completely dark.

They let me out after 10 minutes or so, it only occurred to me afterwards that I was probably having my leg pulled.

It wasn't Arjen Rudd and his mate Pieter?

[littlebasher]

GAjon said:

If you visit the Blue John mines in Derbyshire, on the tour they have an area where they turn all lights off to demonstrate true darkness.

They don’t do it long as it can freak people out.

Do the same at the National coal mining museum

[vaud]

littlebasher said:

Do the same at the National coal mining museum

Which is a great and highly under rated museum, well worth a visit.

[Timothy Bucktu]

We visited the lava tubes in Tenerifie. At one point you all turn off your lights, that is the darkest dark I've ever experienced.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

littlebasher said:

GAjon said:

If you visit the Blue John mines in Derbyshire, on the tour they have an area where they turn all lights off to demonstrate true darkness.

They don’t do it long as it can freak people out.

Do the same at the National coal mining museum

And in caves in Devon. It's very odd, pitch blackness. Found it far more disconcerting than I thought I would.

[dundarach]

I enjoyed mine darkness I seem to remember, found it rather settling!

[anonymous-user]

I’ve done colour dark room processing, unlike black and white there’s no light at all bar when you have the enlarger on, it wasnt too bad, some of the others found it too freaky and kept thinking things were touching them.

[Some Gump]

I looked into justins eyes after he'd been to the other place, was pretty dark to be fair.

[Wacky Racer]

GAjon said:

If you visit the Blue John mines in Derbyshire, on the tour they have an area where they turn all lights off to demonstrate true darkness.

They don’t do it long as it can freak people out.

They do the same in The Speedwell Cavern in the bottomless pit., Absolute total darkness.

[TGCOTF-dewey]

Total silence is odd too.

Stood in the centre of big expensive anechoic chamber is an odd feeling too.

[Alex Z]

Down inside Box Freestone Mine in Wiltshire we all turned our lights off. Total, impenetrable black unlike anything you’d normally see. After the first couple of seconds, it’s quite calming.

[ATG]

RSRE Pershore had an old hangar converted for use as a large totally dark room for testing stuff. Didn't get the opportunity to go inside and see it, or rather fail to see it, which was a pity. Think they had a golf cart fitted with infrared vision kit for getting around inside.

[Boom78]

I’ve been down quite a few mines and done plenty of pot holing. We’re all used to ‘normal’ dark when night adjusted eyes and peripheral vision can pick up objects but down the depths you can’t see a hand literally right in-front of your eyes, the dark is also incredibly heavy, all very unnerving. Not a fan

[QuickQuack]

Dinner at Dans Le Noir? is also a pretty unique experience of total darkness. Eating something without knowing exactly what (you tell them what you DON'T want) in total darkness can be quite unnerving, and my work colleague sitting next to me started having a full blown panic attack so I spent most of my time keeping her calm. It really is total, pitch black darkness there. Thoroughly recommend it, it's brilliant!

[grumpy52]

It did give me some perspective on what my father went through when he worked down the coal mine , he got buried twice in two weeks,first for 8 hours then for 16 hrs . He never returned to the mine after the second episode. He then did 32 years in the RAF .