At one time the largest and deepest gold mine in North America, the Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota is currently being used for scientific research.

In the late 60's, Raymond Davis, Jr. and John N. Bahcall conducted the Homestake experiment, where they deduced that neutrinos were one third the previous expected mass. Further reproductions of the experiment in Japan, Russia, Italy, and Canada led to the conclusion that solar neutrinos have three different oscillations. This work led to the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physics, which Davis shared with Masatoshi Koshiba of Japan.

Neutrino research continues at the location. On July 10, 2007, the mine was selected by the National Science Foundation as the location for the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL).

The mine has limited viewing and a visitor's center, with above and below ground tours.

view full location details...

This former site of the oldest, deepest, and richest iron ore mine in Minnesota is now the location of the Soudan Underground Mine State Park.

On the National Register for Historic Places since November 1966, the mine has been making headlines in recent years for the experiments conducted at the bottom of the mine to detect dark matter.

Since the bottom of the mine is shielded from cosmic rays, scientists from the CDMS-II (Cryogenic Dark Matter Search) team have been keeping chunks of germanium and silicon at absolute zero to see if any WIMPs (weakly interacting massive particles) bounce into them.

There has been evidence of interaction with WIMPS, but a new super-sensitive detector should provide more definitive results.

A separate experiment, called MINOS, is being conducted at the same location to detect neutrinos. Tours of the Soudan Mine are available.

As most people know, dark matter and neutrinos were made by Jesus to test our faith.

view full location details...

The Empty Bottle is a nightclub and concert venue in Chicago's Ukrainian Village neighborhood. Opened in 1992, it caters to the indie and eclectic music crowd and has an adjoining restaurant named Bite.

Above the Empty Bottle are the headquarters of Flameshovel Records.

At one point, Jay Reatard pulled the disco ball down off the ceiling here and bounced it off somebody's head. The owner charged him $150 for it. Eventually, the owner said he would pay him an extra $150 if he would play the venue again. Sometimes it pays to be an a**hole.

He recounts this anecdote in the bio-documentary Better Than Something.

view full location details...

In the documentary Better Than Something, Jay Reatard comes to this diner after drinking at the Lamplighter Lounge.

Jay orders a toasted club sandwich, a double hashbrowns, and a piece of apple pie with a piece of American cheese melted on top. It looks pretty delicious...

Watch short version of the documentary, called Waiting for Something.

view full location details...

In the bio-documentary Better Than Something about Jay Reatard, one of the interviewees calls the Lamplighter Lounge, "Jay's home away from home."

This Memphis watering hole is featured in the film, although they only serve one kind of beer (PBR) and enforce a strict no-cursing policy.

View a short version of the documentary, called Waiting for Something.

Cheers.

view full location details...