Three cheers for research

Just a few of the things I've been looking into, lately:

1) Did you know Sir Arthur Conan Doyle took a break from Holmes to write about Professor Challenger and his exploits chasing dinosaurs?
I'm immersing myself in the genesis of steampunk right now, and since my 9 year old stole my copy of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (and, of course, I was happy to let it go to such a good cause) I'm ordering this book. I can't wait!

2) I've been trying to figure out how to get my airships to plausibly carry larger loads. I know, "plausible" takes on a new definition in alt history, but it has to make sense to me. Enter... vertical airships.




I love that someone is trying to build these. Sign me up for the maiden voyage! Well, maybe the second voyage.

3) And back issues of Popular Mechanics are my new favorite thing. I found out that the professor who built a plane using cycloidal propulsion taught right here at the UW. It's like a plane using rotors out the side instead of wings and the rotors move like egg beaters. It's supposed to provide phenomenal lift. I'm not sure why we aren't all flying around in airships with rotors right now.