Aside from messages, I have found many things in bottles. Once, I found 4 used and rolled up tubes of super glue rattling around in an empty plastic bottle. One day I found a receipt from hardware store in Puerto Rico in a bottle. And one of my favorites was a toothbrush—brand new—that fit perfectly inside a plastic sports drink bottle. Was this an improvised carrying case? Or…did I miss something? Was there scrimshaw on the toothbrush?!
Among the fascinating and inscrutable “messages” I’ve found is this dollar bill:
I can’t tell if the symbols here are from the English alphabet… let alone what any of them mean. Are these the mindless scribblings of a child? Or a covert message sent from a sea-stranded Freemason? Amelia Earhart playing a trick on us? Is Amelia Earhart the fabled “Lost Mason”?
If you have any other suggestions, I’d be delighted to hear them. Is this a message on a dollar bill? And, if so, what is the message? And, if it is NOT a message…then why on earth would someone scribble on a dollar bill, put it in a bottle, and toss in the ocean?
This dollar bill was rolled up inside a generic plastic water bottle. I’ll tell you: finding American money in a trashy bottle on a desolate shore feels crazy and bizarre.
Money may not grow on trees, but, apparently, it apparates inside plastic bottles on beaches.
*PS: People always ask me what I think of the Sting song… But actually, when I’m out hunting around, I tend to think of “The Dollar Bill Song” as performed by Livingston Taylor.
Help me figure out this mystery!