by Rebecca Livermore

Created on: April 16, 2008   Last Updated: December 20, 2009

What can be more intriguing than a message in a bottle? If you put a message in a bottle, and tossed it into the ocean, what are the odds that someone will find it, where will it end up, and how long will it take? And who in the world first came up with the concept of a message in a bottle?

These are the questions that came to mind when I recently read about Merle Brandell, an Alaskan beachcomber who found a bottle that had been launched by a fourth grade student, Emily Hwaung, in 1986. The bottle took approximately 21 years to travel 1,735 miles from Seattle to Alaska.

I decided to do a bit of research on messages in bottles to quench my curiosity. Here's what I found:

* The first message in a bottle was likely sent by Greek philosopher, Theophratus

Although no one knows for sure when the first message in a bottle was released, the ancient Greek philosopher Theophrastus is the first known person to release a message in a bottle. He released a message in a bottle around 310 BC as an experiment to show that the inflowing Atlantic Ocean is what formed the Mediterranean Sea.

* A Message in a bottle was sent by Christopher Columbus

In the days of early explorers, traveling by ship and shipwrecks were common. Once, when Christopher Columbus was caught up in a severe storm, he wrote a report of his discoveries, along with a note asking that his report be passed on to the Queen of Spain. His hope was that his report would be received, even if he did not survive the storm. Columbus survived, but to this day, no one knows what came of his message in a bottle.

* Opening a message in a bottle was punishable by death

Although we think of discovering a message in a bottle as an exciting experience, in the 16th century, discovering a message in a bottle and opening it could result in the death penalty.

The English Navy used messages in bottles to send information about enemy positions and other intelligence reports. After finding out that a boatman at Dover had opened a bottle containing an intelligence report, Queen Elizabeth I created a new job position: "Uncorker of Ocean Bottles." The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles was the only one permitted to open found bottles. All others who found and opened bottles would be put to death.

* Desperate people resort to sending messages in bottles

Although messages sent in bottles are often nothing more than class projects, many desperate people have resorted to using messages in bottles as a cry for help. For example, in May of 2005, a

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