Ship in a bottle

A ship in a bottle was a type of model ship built inside a bottle. Constructing such models was a hobby among some Humans.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard built many airship (and apparently starship) models in bottles as a child.

In 2366, he referred to the Promellian battle cruiser Cleponji to Commander William T. Riker as "the ship in the bottle," as it was fully intact and preserved, and after explaining the concept, surmised that he probably had a Promellian battle cruiser model in his collection as well. The reference was lost on Riker, as well as on Lieutenant Commander Data and Lieutenant Worf, none of whom had built ships in bottles as children. Transporter Chief Miles O'Brien, however, replied– to Riker and Worf's disbelief– that he had built them, describing the practice as being "great fun." (TNG: "Booby Trap") In fact, by 2401, Picard had on display a version of this model in his library at Château Picard, and which had actually been in his possession since his early childhood. (PIC: "The Star Gazer", "Hide and Seek")

In 2368, in making the case for her and other colonists leaving Moab IV, Hannah Bates asked Captain Picard if he would ever choose to live in a ship in a bottle, stating that he lived to explore the unknown and they were asking for the same privilege. (TNG: "The Masterpiece Society")

Lieutenant Joe Carey was building a model of the USS Voyager, the ship to which he was assigned, in a bottle up until his death in 2378. At the time of his demise, he had almost completed the model and only had one nacelle left to finish. (VOY: "Friendship One")

Ensign Brad Boimler of the USS Cerritos built a model of a D'Var type Orion scout ship in his childhood that he put in a bottle. When Boimler was sent back in time to the USS Enterprise in 2259, he shared this with the bridge crew when they encountered a real D'Var type ship, the D'Var. He quickly clarified that his was a small ship and a big bottle. (SNW: "Those Old Scientists")

External link[]

• Ship in a bottle at Wikipedia