A clear starry night, for when you don't have one

The sight of it is somehow both enticing and repulsive: an umbrella sewn throughout with an orderly twinkling of glowing stars.

Our picture here is from a print catalog, which casts it in earnest tones—"The world's most spectacular umbrella, thanks to sophisticated fiber-optic technology"—but it is the example below, from a less measured source ($29.98!), that brings out its true class.

[#1 posted by kawayama , November 25, 2008 2:25 AM]

my mother used to have an umbrella with a star map printed on the inside. there was a very small flashlight attached to the stem (stem?), so that you could check the map on a starry night (the battery didn't last long).

i'm not sure if this is a better or worse idea.

[#2 posted by SamSam , November 25, 2008 7:52 AM]

I'd be willing to bet that they took this idea from an instructible, or some otherwise DIY/MAKE online tutorial.

There's one here, but I'm pretty sure there was an earlier version.

[#3 posted by Anonymous , November 25, 2008 8:36 AM]

This would be cool for walking home from the train at night. Visibility and coverage.

[#4 posted by toxonix , November 25, 2008 2:15 PM]

Yes, there are people who haven't seen Blade Runner yet. Where's my Blade Runner umbrella?

[#5 posted by CubeB , November 25, 2008 6:40 PM]

The Blade Runner Umbrella.
...I personally prefer the Blade Runner one over this sparkly one, but that's just my opinion.

[#6 posted by Lexica , November 28, 2008 12:07 PM]

Is it goofy and somewhat tacky? Yes. Would it increase my visibility when walking around in the rain? Yes. Hmm...