This day in history, 1937, witnessed the explosion and crash of the German zeppelin Hindenburg. The incident is associated with the end of the first era of commercial airships, although they keep threatening to come back as inexpensive means of carrying bulk cargo. I'd love to see it, myself. There are some very imaginative designs for rigid and semi-rigid airships out there these days, and helium is a lot safer than hydrogen (assuming we do not just piss away the world's entire supply of helium into colored balloons).
But for now, all we're left with is the memory of these amazing, majestic vessels.
Here's a link to the original New York Times article.
