Fascinating message in a bottle discoveries

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There is something magical about a message in a bottle. It can float for years before someone, somewhere, finds it. Throughout the years, there have been fascinating discoveries and many incredible stories that have started with a simple bottle that washed ashore.

 

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German ship - In January 2018, a woman found a nearly 132-year-old message on an Australian beach. It is the oldest message in a bottle ever found.

 

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German ship - The message was written in German and included information about the location and route of a ship called Paula.

 

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RMS Titanic - An Irishman named Jeremiah Burke wrote a poignant note as Titanic was sinking. He put it inside a bottle of holy water his mother had given him before he left to start a new life in the US.

 

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RMS Titanic - The bottle washed ashore one year later in Dunkettle, just a few miles from his family home. The message read "From Titanic, goodbye all, Burke of Glanmire, Cork."

 

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RMS Lusitania - The Lusitania was hit by a German torpedo in 1915, and reportedly sank in about eight minutes. That was evidently enough time for a passenger to write a quick note and put in a bottle.

 

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RMS Lusitania - The message read, "Still on deck with a few people. The last boats have left. We are sinking fast. Some men near me are praying with a priest. The end is near. Maybe this note will..." and the note ended there.

 

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Auschwitz message - In 2009, a message in a bottle was found inside a wall in the Auschwitz concentration camp. The message dated back to September 9, 1944.

 

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Auschwitz message - The message consisted of the names, camp numbers, and hometowns of seven Auschwitz prisoners.

 

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Hawaii - Vietnam - USA - In 1979, a couple tossed a few bottles of champagne into the Pacific ocean while on vacation in Hawaii. They put their address and a one dollar bill for return postage inside each bottle, promising a reward for whoever found it.

 

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Hawaii - Vietnam - USA - Four years later, they received a response from a former Vietnamese soldier trying to escape the country. The couple eventually sponsored the refugee and his family to relocate to the United States.

 

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World War I soldier - In 1914, British soldier Private Thomas Hughes tossed a bottle containing a message to his wife into the English channel. He eventually died two days later in France.

 

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World War I soldier - The message read: "Dear Wife, I am writing this note on this boat and dropping it into the sea just to see if it will reach you. If it does, sign this envelope on the right hand bottom corner where it says receipt. Put the date and hour of receipt and your name where it says signature and look after it well. Ta ta sweet, for the present. Your Hubby."

 

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World War I soldier - The bottle was found by a fisherman in 1999. Pvt. Thomas Hughes' wife had already passed away, but the message eventually found its way to the soldier's 86-year-old daughter.

 

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Love letter - In 1956, a Swedish man looking for love tossed a bottle into the ocean. The message read, "To someone beautiful and far away," and included his contact details.

 

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Love letter - Two years later, he received a response from an Italian woman. They eventually met, he moved to Sicily, and they got married.

 

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Glasgow School of Navigation - In 1914, the Glasgow School of Navigation in Scotland threw more than 1,889 bottles into the sea. The aim was to study currents and tides. The bottles contained cards for people to fill in and return to the school.

 

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Glasgow School of Navigation - In 2011, a Scottish fisherman found one of the bottles. The discovery got him an entry into the Guinness World Record book for the oldest message in a bottle found in the modern era (at the time).

 

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Soldier and milkmaid - On Christmas Day 1945, an American soldier returning home from World War II tossed a bottle into the sea.

 

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Soldier and milkmaid - Eight months later, an Irish milkmaid replied to the young soldier's message. They exchanged letters for seven years until he managed to come to Ireland to meet her. But the romance eventually ended after they met.