Yep, the US had airships back in the 1920s and 30s. The Macon served in the US Navy before going done in a storm in 1935. Jack’s model has a structure that mimics its 785 foot-long bigger brother. He used balsa wood sticks and Mylar for the skin of the airship, then filled it with helium, just like the original. His replica is RC-controlled and he hopes to donate it to the Moffett Field museum, where the original was docked. Jack is a retired computer engineer and saw the Macon regularly on his way to work.

It’s not just because of Fringe that I like airships – ever since James Bond’s A View to a Kill and the Indiana Jones movies, you wonder why airships haven’t become popular again. Maybe because they travel slower than some people expect. I, for one, hope that we’ll have mainstream airship transportation soon again.

[PopSci via DVice]

These Fuwarito lamps look like the earth and the moon, but are just simple helium-filled mylar balloons with an LED built into the bottom. Each light comes with a two cans of helium gas and weighted base to keep them from floating away. Turn the lights off, and you’ll feel like you’re floating around the galaxy with these hovering planetary bodies. They can be found at Japanese retailer ASCII for ¥3,343 each (about $27 USD.)

All you need to do is add one of those laser star projectors to complete the effect.