Message in a bottle

Off-topic
1

Have you ever put a message in a bottle and thrown it out to sea?
I think I am going to do this next time I am near the ocean.
What are your thoughts about it?

2

Pollution. :slight_smile:

3

heh i agree:p

4

the point about pollution is true, but how awesoem would it be to be the one to recieve it? this made me think of something: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/07/31/eveningnews/main566138.shtml

5

Chances are, unless you throw it out really far, the waves will just bring it back to shore a few hundred/maybe thousand feet down the beach. In that case, it will look just like another bottle that’s on the beach as trash - unlikely that someone will open it.

Someone might open it though. I don’t know. If they see that there’s a scroll of paper or something in it they might be curious. What would you say, “HELP! I’m stuck in a bottle!”, I think maybe giving your phone number/email/or home address (if you don’t mind just handing it out) would be best. You never know when the message will be found, and you may not be around anymore when it is - but it’s likely that your house will.

6

I’ve thrown a note in a bottle to sea once, and got a reply from a really nice grandma who’s husband caught it in his crab trap like 30 or 40 miles away. I did it when I was like 5, so I don’t remember her address or anything, but she sent me pictures of her dog, grandkids, herself, and other stuff. It was awesome!:slight_smile:

7

hardly. Right now I can see the St. John’s harbour, and could very well go throw a bottle in and see if it floats all the way across the north atlantic, without much concern about pollution. BTW, St. John’s is a city with no sewage treatment plant. I’ll leave it to you to figure out what they do with it.

8

Hey I’m a 5 minute walk from the North Atlantic maybe I should go looking for some ducks.

9

Tyler, it’s the Puget SOUND, not Puget SEA!

We used to do quite a bit of boat camping in the San Juan Islands and Gulf Islands between Washington State and Vancouver Island. Once found an empty wine bottle floating in open water (the type with the cap, not cork) with a note stating: “Help, I’m stuck on a beach with a drunk Indian”. Pretty sure they were drunk and there was no Indian when they sent the note.

10

I’ve always wanted to do that. I think next time I’m in the open sea, I will.

11

I figure it would be best on a cruise ship. But I’m not gonna drop that much money just to throw a bottle overboard.

12

Broken pieces of bottle glass polished by the sand and the sea are beautiful. I used to find quite a bit of it on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay during my high school years. They make for great projects.

13

But then the Chesapeke has become increasingly polluted over twenty years of efforts contrary…

14

If you decide to go through with it, remember:
[LIST=1]

  • Never write your address or other personal information. You'll leave youself open to Nigerian bottle-message spammers and before you know it your local beach will be littered with offers of discount medication and doubious financial opportunities.
  • If you find a message in a bottle, never look at the attached document before you've had it scanned for virus content.
  • Help reduce pollution by using a recycled bottle and if possible a cork made from an organically grown biodegradable material. [/LIST]:D

    OK, I’m done being silly now.

    I’ve sent a message in a bottle 22-23 years ago, but I haven’t gotten a reply yet. It was still fun still, thinking about where the bottle might end up.

    I have, however, found a message in a bottle once when I was around 8 years old.
    It was from a boy from East Germany who had thrown the bottle in a river about 300 km from the beach where I found it.
    The boy was a little younger than me, but we wrote to eachother for some time. Unfortunately the letters have since disappeared. It would have been fun to be able to read them again now.

    • 15

    You folks have inspired me. I think I may do this next time I get a chance to go to the beach.
    But seriously, what would you recommend putting in it as far as information?

    16

    One time I read a statistic of about how many messages in bottles there currently are in the ocean…I don’t remember it, but man it was so high.
    Put your e-mail address…or your real address, if your parents are cool with it.

    17

    Aw, it makes me sad when people throw that ‘pollution’ line at the romantic idea of a message in a bottle.
    One of the best bottles to use is a Grolsch beer bottle, which has a hinged cork type lid. Totally re-sealable and airtight.

    18

    I figure if I throw one in here in St. John’s the current would take it somewhere near Iceland.

    19

    I only live near lake ontario… I don’t think I want any canadians sending me messages anytime soon…

    20

    that was funny…