White House Says “No” to Building a Death Star in the Awesomest Way Possible

Death Star

Wouldn’t it be awesome if the US government actually built a Death Star? If you’re familiar with the Star Wars franchise, then you know it’s the moon-sized superweapon and space station that’s capable of blowing up planets by firing a laser beam at it. Thousands of people wanted to see it built, so they signed a petition and submitted it to the White House for their consideration last November.

After a few months of careful consideration, the official response to the petition is out, and sadly, it’s a huge ‘no.’ However, we now see that the White House does, indeed, have a sense of humor, and you’ll find out why when you read their response to the petition–after the break.

Penned by Paul Shawcross, who is the chief of the science and space branch at the White House Office of Management and Budget, the response goes like this:

“The Administration shares your desire for job creation and a strong national defense, but a Death Star isn’t on the horizon. Here are a few reasons:
The construction of the Death Star has been estimated to cost more than $850,000,000,000,000,000. We’re working hard to reduce the deficit, not expand it.
The Administration does not support blowing up planets.
Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?”

You can read the rest of the response here.

VIA [ CNET ]

Death Star Tree Topper: Silent Night (on Alderaan)

Check out this sparkly Death Star tree topper. It makes for a very merry and geeky Christmas – unless, of course, you happen to live on Alderaan. This DIY Death Star puts the ultimate power in the universe at the top of your tree.

Deathstar tree topperIf you check out the instructions, you’ll see that it’s not all so hard to build either. In fact, after seeing how easy it is, I’m surprised the Empire couldn’t finish their second Death Star in the Endor system before Wedge and Lando had a chance to blow it up.

death star tree topper 2

Basically, you just need some black acrylic paint, painter’s tape, glue, glitter, and a plastic round ornament thing. Your death-dealing space station will be fully operational after that – until an X-wing ornament on a lower branch flies up and gets a lucky shot at it.

[via Neatorama]

Death Star Ice Sphere Tray

death star ice cube tray Death Star Ice Sphere Tray
That’s no moon! That’s also no half-moon shaped ice cube. It’s a full on globe of destruction for warm drinks. Make Death Star shaped ice balls with the Death Star Ice Sphere Tray Death Star Ice Sphere Tray. Each silicone tray makes a 2.4″ diameter mini-Death Star. But you don’t have to only make ice- how about jello, giant lollipos, chocolates, or even soap? Dishwasher, freezer and Wookiee safe.

buy now Death Star Ice Sphere Tray

Death Star Ice Sphere Tray

Levitating Light Up Death Star Globe

levitating death star Levitating Light Up Death Star Globe
That’s no moon! One enterprising and skilled craftster Backwards Props created this homemade Star Wars collectible. He took a regular magnetic levitating globe and transformed it into Darth Vader’s little pet project. First he unwrapped the Earth’s crust to reveal the mantle.
globe unwrapped Levitating Light Up Death Star Globe
Then he downloaded some blueprint plans for the Death Star from the Internet (sloppy work, Storm Troopers, that’s a major security breach leaving those plans out). He cut out the “eye” and sunk it in.
death star plans Levitating Light Up Death Star Globe
A light sanding and a coat of gray primer followed. He drilled a series of small holes and taped over them to paint the remaining part darker and not fill in his holes with paint.
death star holes Levitating Light Up Death Star Globe
Then for the sake of accuracy to a fictional ship, he did a series of calculations to get the super star destroyer ship (which he attached) to the exact scale it should be. Wow, the Death Star really is huge, right?
death star scale Levitating Light Up Death Star Globe
Then he put fiber optic strands in to light the whole thing up and placed it back in it’s rotating stand and presto- awesome. Here’s a video you can see it in action:

Well done sir, well done.

Levitating Light Up Death Star Globe

Make Your Own Levitating Death Star

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The Death Star is one of the most well-known icons of the cult movie Star Wars. Over the years I’ve seen lots of fan interpretations for this dark battle station.

This brilliant levitating Death Star is made out of a floating globe which was used as the base. To see exactly what you’ll need to ...
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That’s No Heart Necklace… It’s a Death Star Necklace!

The Death Star is an evil place. Bad things happen there all the time. Whether it’s the extermination of an entire planet, or just the obliteration of its own crew, it’s not exactly a happy place to work. But it turns out that the Death Star has a heart.

death star heart necklace

Well, it’s not really a heart, but it’s a heart necklace. Artist Monique Pasco of OneKraftyB (Hmmm, I wonder what the “B” stands for) made this Death Star heart necklace from heat-cured plastic, and as you can see from the picture, it’s just a little bigger than a Quarter. The heart shape definitely makes the Death Star look a little less imposing for sure – perhaps less likely to draw suspicion from passing spaceships and nearby planets. Maybe if Vader had built the original in the shape of a heart, he would have gotten away with it.

So if you’ve got a soft spot in your heart for the Death Star, you can buy this one over on Etsy for just $10(USD) – that’s way less than an actual Death Star – or an actual heart for that matter.


Chocolate Cherry Death Star Explodes in Your Mouth

This chocolate cherry filled Death Star is the ultimate power in the universe. It will shatter your taste buds into a million gooey pieces as it fires at the pleasure centers of your brain like Alderaan. Get this in my mouth now!

chocolate death star
Don’t worry. No single X-Wing can possibly destroy this amazingly geeky treat. If they fly into it’s trenches, they will just get stuck in the gooey center. The tractor beam on this Death Star actually works in reverse. It doesn’t pull you into it’s hangar bay, you can’t help but pull it toward your waiting mouth.

If only I could order about two dozen of these things, I would be happy.

[via Geeks Are Sexy]


Angry Birds Star Wars Jenga Sets

star wars angry birds death star Angry Birds Star Wars Jenga Sets
This brand new game from Rovio is hitting it out of the park on all points- it’s got Angry Birds, it’s got Star Wars, it’s got Jenga. If this thing could cook dinner, I’d marry it. The game comes in three different versions: Death Star Game Angry Birds Star Wars Jenga Sets, Hoth Battle Game Angry Birds Star Wars Jenga Sets, and Tatooine Battle Game Angry Birds Star Wars Jenga Sets. Each game comes with Star Wars figures appropriate to that scene (ie Tatooine has a little Jabba the Hut) as well as a bird launcher based on a ship (X-Wing Fighter for the Death Star game).
angry birds star wars jenga Angry Birds Star Wars Jenga Sets
The gameplay in these is not exactly like Jenga, since you will want to knock it down. Still fun though. The Death Star set is the biggest and comes with Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Chewbacca birds that can be launched for a squawk attack on the pork side’s Darth Vader and 4 Stormtrooper pigs! Sweetness.

buy now Angry Birds Star Wars Jenga Sets Angry Birds Star Wars Jenga Sets

Angry Birds Star Wars Jenga Sets