You Asked:

How do you get a ship in a bottle? — Greg, Shreveport, La.

Marshall Brain Answers:

This is one of those “picture paints a thousand words” kind of situations. These two videos show you the process for getting a ship in a bottle. The basic idea: build a ship that folds small enough to fit through the neck of the bottle, and then unfold it once it is inside:

Here is a fairly elaborate folding ship:

If you would like to try it yourself, there are ship-in-bottle kits you can buy like these. See also: this page for pre-built ships.