Message In Bottle Found After 98 Years Near Shetland

An anonymous reader writes "A drift bottle released in June 1914 by Captain CH Brown of the Glasgow School of Navigation has been found. Part of a project to help map currents, 1,890 scientific research bottles were released around Scotland. Only 315 of them were ever recovered. From the article: 'Mr Leaper, 43, who found the bottle east of Shetland, explained: "As we hauled in the nets I spotted the bottle neck sticking out and I quickly grabbed it before it fell back in the sea. It was very exciting to find the bottle and I couldn't wait to open it."'"

Comments

Sixpence None The Richer?

[Cyrano de Maniac]

Yes, but was he awarded the promised six pence?

Re:Sixpence None The Richer?

[girlintraining]

Yes, but was he awarded the promised six pence?

When the original bottle and items inside are auctioned off, he'll make far more. Assuming he doesn't succumb to a case of stupidity and opens the bottle like the article suggests, in which case he deserves being whipped repeatedly by angry historians -- and the whip's price shall be six pence.

Re:Sixpence None The Richer?

[Chris Mattern]

Kiss Me!

Re:Sixpence None The Richer?

[Charliemopps]

"The bottle has been donated to a Shetland museum"

Well, at least he didn't open it.

Re:Sixpence None The Richer?

[girlintraining]

"The bottle has been donated to a Shetland museum"

I think there might be a typo here.

Re:Sixpence None The Richer?

[AchilleTalon]

Great deception. I expected the message being something like: That whisky was fucking good!

Re:Sixpence None The Richer?

[Anonymous Coward]

More importantly is this "News for nerds, stuff that matters" ?

Re:Sixpence None The Richer?

[medelliadegray]

he would still be none the richer.

That guy...

[Techmeology]

That guy likes setting that record:p

Re:That guy...

[Anonymous Coward]

The find has been confirmed as a new record by Guinness World Records.

The drift bottle - containing a postcard which promised a reward of six pence to the finder - was released in June 1914 by Captain CH Brown of the Glasgow School of Navigation.

It was in a batch of 1,890 scientific research bottles which were specially designed to sink to help map the currents of the seas around Scotland when they were returned. Only 315 of them have been found.

Until a bottle from a batch released before 1914 is found, every single time another bottle gets found from the batch released in 1914, it's a new world record. With 1,575 sunken bottles from the 1914 batch out there waiting to be found, somehow I don't think this record will last.

Neat

[Formalin]

Bottle looks to be in pretty good shape - I can't tell what the seal is, just cork?

I wonder if he'll get to collect the 6 pence finders fee. What's that in decimal... with interest?

Re:Neat

[gman003]

According to this, sixpence translates to 2.5p, or 0.025L (not even going to try using the right character, /. will eat it). And according to this PDF, the Pound was worth roughly 76 times more in 2005 (the year it was written) than it was in 1914. So it comes out to be about 2L, or about US$3.

Re:Neat

[thelexx]

"the Pound was worth roughly 76 times more in 2005 (the year it was written) than it was in 1914."

Less. The pound was worth ~76 times less in 2005 than in 1914. See the graphs on pages 18 and 19.

Re:Neat

[gman003]

Depends on how you look at it. 76 L(1914) are only worth 1 L(2005), so in that sense it is worth less. But 1 L(1914) would buy you far more than 1 L(2005), so in that sense it is worth more.

Re:Neat

[thelexx]

"But 1 L(1914) would buy you far more than 1 L(2005), so in that sense it is worth more."

Think about that for a minute.

1 in 1914 = 76 loaves of bread (just a number for example)
1 in 2005 = 1 loaf of bread

In absolutely no sense is it worth more now. It is very simple. If it were truly worth more now, in any way shape or form, you would be getting more than 76 loaves of bread for it.

Re:Neat

[gman003]

Ah, my bad, I did have it backwards. Mind kept reading it as what I meant to write, not what I actually wrote.

Re:Neat

[msauve]

There was no promise to pay interest, or adjust for inflation, etc. One can buy a sixpence coin on UK eBay with shipping, for a pound, so you can probably get one for less than that.

Re:Neat

[rossdee]

Depends on what you are going to buy with it. Inflation isn't totally uniform. - How much did radios and other consumer electronics cost back then?

Re:Neat

[Anonymous Coward]

USS3 how dumb the L use looks to a Brit.

£.

Re:Neat

[fuzzywig]

Do you mean £? I thought you were talking about Lira for a minute. And yeah, a pre- Decimalisation quid could buy you a lot more back then.

Re:Neat

[Inda]

One night, eight years ago, down on the Cornish coast, we drank this sickly drink called Dooleys. In a moment of madness we placed a scrap of paper in the bottle with my email address and the words "Just for fun". Our small boat was pushed into the English Channel and we sailed out a mile before I lobbed the bottle overboard. Stupidity knows no bounds.

A month later I recieved an email.

The bottle had travelled all of two miles down the coast in that time, through one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

A crappy little rubber seal protected the data inside. Maybe it's not so hard to believe a cork could do a better job. :)

Re:Neat

[geekoid]

you made me curious.
In the US:
1914 - price of bread per pound 6 cents
2002 - 149 cents

Calculating inflation, 6 cents in 1914 is equivalent to 107 cents in 2002.

So we are paying more for bread, but. It s sliced, safer, higher quality, and consistent.

Re:Neat

[cellocgw]

you made me curious.
In the US:
1914 - price of bread per pound 6 cents
2002 - 149 cents
Calculating inflation, 6 cents in 1914 is equivalent to 107 cents in 2002.
So we are paying more for bread, but. It s sliced, safer, higher quality, and consistent.
?? Pre-sliced sucks. "Safer" is nonsense. Consistency is boring. And most important, sliced mass-produced bread is crap both nutritionally and gustatorially. Give me a good local bakery any day.

Re:Neat

[oldmac31310]

LSD. Librae, solidi, denarii. Pounds, shillings and pence.

Re:Neat

[Anonymous Coward]

Must you people be highbrow connoisseurs at EVERYTHING??

Re:Neat

[thelexx]

For sure, technological advancement SHOULD lead to a natural decrease in many prices over time. That isn't the case though because the money is losing value more quickly than the advancements are happening. The fact that even superior (let's say 5x) bread is now more than 30 cents per pound shows that pretty clearly.

And you made me curious too! The loaf of bread on my shelf says 1lb on the label and it was a little over $2 IIRC.

So...

[msauve]

how do they know it was near Shetland for 98 years?

Re:So...

[Anonymous Coward]

I could tell you but I think it is more fun to know the answer and keep you in the dark. Also, read the article you twat.

Re:So...

[icebike]

how do they know it was near Shetland for 98 years?

They obviously don't. In fact, unless there are some incredibly regular local current loops this bottle could have traveled a very long way.
These were designed to sink to some depth, (but obviously not to the bottom) and flow with the currents, and be below the depth where they
would likely be dashed on the rocks by waves.

Looking at a map of the Atlantic Currents its quite possible these bottles may have covered would be up to the arctic, back down along Greenland, Labrador, delivered to the North Atlantic Drift and back to Shetland. Probably many round such trips over the years.

Re:So...

[msauve]

Whoosh. (not unexpected for an AC)

"Message In Bottle Found After 98 Years Near Shetland" != "Message In Bottle Found Near Shetland After 98 Years".

Re:So...

[Obfuscant]

In fact, unless there are some incredibly regular local current loops this bottle could have traveled a very long way.

Right. But this is fascinating data. Datum? The time-integrated value of ocean currents with an integration time of 98 years.

Most people want to know the instantaneous value. Climatologists want to know the perhaps one year average. But here we have the 98 year integration. Do you know how much it would cost to build a modern electronic current meter that would have a calibration valid for 98 years?

Re:So...

[Anonymous Coward]

Labrador?
Wait, what? Somebody named a place after a dog breed?

This world never ceases to amaze me...

Re:So...

[Anonymous Coward]

speaking of climatogolgists I wonder if they are going to test the air in the bottle.

Re:So...

[Kryptonian Jor-El]

It wouldn't be very useful. The air in the bottle would be representative of only that particular day, in that particular place. For example, if it were bottled by a wood fire stove, it would have much higher concentrations of CO2 than the average mass of air

Re:So...

[RabidReindeer]

It wouldn't be very useful. The air in the bottle would be representative of only that particular day, in that particular place. For example, if it were bottled by a wood fire stove, it would have much higher concentrations of CO2 than the average mass of air

All grist for the mill, though. There have been studies where they do open old bottles and other airtight hollow objects (I think even things like binoculars) just to analyze the air.

One sample isn't worth much, but that's how you build knowledge somethings. One sample at a time.

Also, they don't just do straight chemical analysis. Isotopes can tell all sorts of stories.

On the back was written

[Jailbrekr]

BSD Is Dying

Re:On the back was written

[msauve]

FreeBSD, or OpenBSD?

Re:On the back was written

[Anonymous Coward]

*BSD. Netcraft confirms it.

Then Mr. Leaper realized

[Anonymous Coward]

That the bottle didn't contain alcohol, and he was much less excited.

ping

[djl4570]

$ping 192.168.28.1

Pinging 192.168.28.1 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.28.1: bytes=32 time=3,092,644,800,000ms TTL=64

Ping statistics for 192.168.28.1:
Packets: Sent = 1, Received = 1, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 3,092,644,800,000ms, Maximum = 3,092,644,800,000ms, Average = 3,092,644,800,000ms
$

Re:ping

[p0p0]

Shouldn't it be closer to:
$ping shetland.gov

Pinging shetland.gov with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from shetland.gov: bytes=32 time=3,092,644,800,000ms TTL=64

Ping statistics for shetland.gov:
Packets: Sent = 1,890, Received = 315, Lost = 1575 (83% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 3,092,644,800,000ms, Maximum = 3,092,644,800,000ms, Average = 3,092,644,800,000ms
$

Re:ping

[Anonymous Coward]

I think the average ping time is shorter (from the 314 recovered bottles), just the max value being 3Ts.

Re:ping

[drkim]

Still, better than my ISP...

Re:ping

[fm6]

I think you got the TTL wrong.

Re:ping

[Alomex]

TTL is in hops, not time units.

Re:ping

[Pieroxy]

I think you got the TTL wrong.

Or ping is buggy as hell.

Obvious joke here

[dkleinsc]

Unfortunately, The Police could not be reached for comment.

Re:Obvious joke here

[Chris Mattern]

However, there *were* reports of an SOS...

Re:Obvious joke here

[c0lo]

However, there *were* reports of an SOS...

Yes... actually a hundred billion of them... stingy luck to have found only one of them.

Re:Obvious joke here

[ThePeices]

Unfortunately, The Police could not be reached for comment.

Joke not so obvious....what do the police have to do with this?

Re:Obvious joke here

[gman003]

One explanation, coming right up..

Re:Obvious joke here

[Anonymous Coward]

The Police, not the police.

Re:Obvious joke here

[Trogre]

Man, you would have to have been living in a box or walking on the moon not to get that one.

Re:Obvious joke here

[Anonymous Coward]

Jeez, where have you been? Living at the bottom of some dark Scottish lake, or something I presume?

Re:Obvious joke here

[istartedi]

Well, as someone who came of age in the 80s myself... there's a chance he wasnt' born yet. Yeah I know. Sucks to be old.

Now that we've turned him onto The Police, he may be one of the fetuses on YouTube that loves their music.

Re:Obvious joke here

[Kreigaffe]

I worked briefly with a 19 year old girl who had never heard of: David Bowie, Neil Young, Sid Vicious, James Brown, Pearl Jam, Janis Joplin, or Run DMC.

I very nearly wept.

Re:Obvious joke here

[Dripdry]

That's "have to be a man in a suitcase or...."
As a resident Police fanatic I can say unequivocally that they have no song called "living in a box." Wow, I can't believe I'm the snooty, uptight dork who feels So Lonely on this issue...
My apologies, but the Voices Inside My Head felt a deep-seated need to make things "right"

What can I say? Truth Hits Everybody.

Re:Obvious joke here

[raddan]

I work with a former Microsoft intern about whom I have a similar story. Microsoft plans a "special event" every summer for its interns, and they're often things like cruises or concerts. So I asked him-- what was your special event? He said, "Oh, it was just some wedding band or something. Totally boring." I later found out that it was Dave Matthews Band. Gah.

Re:Obvious joke here

[heneon]

I know this joke! "I very nearly wept." ...then you realised she was deaf! Bada-bum, thank you I'll be here all week.

Re:Obvious joke here

[joke_dst]

You shouldn't have wept, you should have been happy!

http://xkcd.com/1053/

Re:Obvious joke here

[sa1lnr]

Sid Vicious sells dairy and Iggy Pop is an insurance salesman. :(

Re:Obvious joke here

[dargaud]

One of the very first argument I had with my then girlfriend (and now wife) was that she'd never heard of The Clash. I was "that's not possible" and she got pissed at me for claiming that I could tell what she knew better than her. The argument ended when I put their most famous songs on the player: "Oh! But I've heard that before..."

Re:Obvious joke here

[Anonymous Coward]

I could understand not knowing Bowie, Neil Young, Sid Vicious (or the Sex Pistols altogether, for that matter), James Brown, Janis Joplin or Run DMC, seeing as some of them died before she was even born or simply have been a bit under the radar for the last decade or so. Bur not knowing Pearl Jam, that's really hard to believe as they are huge, still recording and touring and routinely filling out venues all over the world. Has she been living in a cave or something?

Re:Obvious joke here

[Anonymous Coward]

I've never heard of The Clash. So what's their most famous song?

Re:Obvious joke here

[karbonforms]

Sid Viscous is long dead you nobber. Johnny Rotten (John Lydon) punts butter.

Re:Obvious joke here

[karbonforms]

Loch!

Re:Obvious joke here

[Anonymous Coward]

Why should she have heard of them? She's young and there's plenty of competition for mind-share.

IMO she's not really missing that much based on your list. e.g. David Bowie, pioneer in some ways perhaps, but so what? That said even if she's never heard of James Brown she's probably heard stuff like "I Feel Good" in some ads/promos, movies, etc. In contrast David Bowie's stuff will just be used for evoking a particular era in the past. "Space Oddity" (Major Tom) might have some use "out of era", but not really that much.

Re:Obvious joke here

[mug funky]

"Sid Viscous is long dead you nobber"

yes, he came to a rather sticky end.

Re:Obvious joke here

[mug funky]

tricky thing to get the stats on really. it's sort of between two.

it's easy to rock the casbah if you live by a river.

Re:Obvious joke here

[mug funky]

what about "Labyrinth"?? where are the parents in this poor girl's life?

Re:Obvious joke here

[guyniraxn]

Ha! That's the best description of Dave Matthews Band I've heard. I never did "get" them.

Re:Obvious joke here

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh boy. If you don't know Neil Young you are missing much. Very much.

Re:Obvious joke here

[karbonforms]

aye. him too. (drunk in charge of spellchecker)

Re:Obvious joke here

[Bob C. Cock]

I had a similar jaw dropping experience when a 20 year old I work with didn't get the reference "nuke them from orbit, it's the only way to be sure." When I told him it was from Aliens his response was, "I don't watch old movies."

Re:Obvious joke here

[Anonymous Coward]

Haha, I actually remember the song "Living In A Box." It was by the band "Living In A Box." From the album "Living In A Box." And I'm sure that's the only reason I remember it.

Re:Obvious joke here

[heefeneet]

Loch!

Maybe he meant the Lake Of Menteith?

Re:Obvious joke here

[Anonymous Coward]

Iggy sells cruises. Duh.

Re:Obvious joke here

[oldmac31310]

Hope not. Rubbish band.

Re:Obvious joke here

[oldmac31310]

Well out of that lot IMHO only JB and maybe Run DMC are worth bothering with.

Re:Obvious joke here

[oldmac31310]

You mean in a van by the river like Chris Farley?

Re:Obvious joke here

[Anonymous Coward]

Man, you would have to have been living in a box or walking on the moon not to get that one.

Actually I totally missed it until I read the explanation... but then again I've been working for something like 36 of the last 48 hours.... I think I need to sleep now.

Re:Obvious joke here

[Anonymous Coward]

well - I was talking to one of my son's schoolmates, little hipster, who was excited that his favorite band had released their latest album on vinyl. (he pronounced it "vee-nil") OH, the audio quality on vee-nil is soooo much better than these newfangled CD's!

Re:Obvious joke here

[karbonforms]

which is a loch in Scotland

Re:Obvious joke here

[Anonymous Coward]

Wish I could mod you up. Your post is no more Offtopic than the one above it. I think it's ridiculous that people look down on younger people who haven't heard of musicians that were big in their day. There's no objective criteria for music being "good," and to expect someone to have the same tastes is silly.

The context read .....

[Brigadier]

Send more Rum ....

Re:The context read .....

[Anonymous Coward]

Be sure to drink your Ovaltine...

Re:The context read .....

[Anonymous Coward]

Burma Shave.

Long Term Storage

[Anonymous Coward]

Remember the story on this site about creating a time capsule to be opened in the future? And everyone was going on about various seals, gas interactions, acid free paper, etc.

Seems like a piece of paper stuck inside a bottle can last a hundred years.

Re:Long Term Storage

[Anonymous Coward]

It may be important to note that the typical ocean surface temperature near the British Isles is in the mid 50s (F) year-round, but "10 feet underground" temperatures can hit 70F in the summertime. That extra 20F might cause a lot of aging.

(Yes, I'm ignoring the damage caused by direct light/UV; underground stuff doesn't have to worry about that.)

Re:Long Term Storage

[Anonymous Coward]

How exciting, I've heard of tablets(made of stone) that last thousands of years.

Re:Long Term Storage

[RabidReindeer]

Remember the story on this site about creating a time capsule to be opened in the future? And everyone was going on about various seals, gas interactions, acid free paper, etc.

Seems like a piece of paper stuck inside a bottle can last a hundred years.

Progress.

I think that the use of acid to bleach paper might actually post-date the post-card in question.

Excitement & Despair

[SuperKendall]

It was very exciting to find the bottle and I couldn't wait to open it.

Followed immediately by a crushing disappointment that it did not hold liquor.

Technically..

[Anonymous Coward]

It's probably somewhere upwards of $1 with interest ;)

Re:Technically..

[History's Coming To]

Very close - it was upgraded to £1.

Oops

[SuperKendall]

Should have read down further before I posted. MY apologies for totally ripping off your joke.

Obvious reference

[techno-vampire]

Fan mail from a flounder?

I hate you all that bottle is....

[NSN A392-99-964-5927]

My Whiskey and there are not enough drams to go around....therefore first posters get a wee dram and the rest can piss off!

Topic CLOSED!

Re:I hate you all that bottle is....

[History's Coming To]

There's no e in Scottish Whisky.

Re:I hate you all that bottle is....

[heefeneet]

There's no e in Scottish Whisky.

If it was whiskey (with an e) that explains why it was thrown overboard!

Re:I hate you all that bottle is....

[NSN A392-99-964-5927]

There's no e in Scottish Whisky.

If it was whiskey (with an e) that explains why it was thrown overboard!

You should all me modded up and where the hell is my Whiskey :)

printf( "%s \n", SLASHDOT_STD_JOKE );

[Young Master Ploppy]

Hey, 1914 called, they want their.... oh.

Re:printf( "%s \n", SLASHDOT_STD_JOKE );

[eternaldoctorwho]

Did you warn them about WWI and WWII???? No??!! You bastard!

The note said:

[geekoid]

First post!

That character

[Max Hyre]

Sure, they'll let it through: £ :-)

Choose ``HTML Formatted'' in the menu below the text-entry box, and type in ``£''.

Alternatively, just cut and paste the character, and ignore the A-ring that /. sticks in front: £