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beachcombing, Clint Buffington, how to open a message in a bottle, message in a bottle, S.O.S., terrorist
We’ve had several beautiful days here in Lexington recently, and there’s nothing that makes me eager for adventure like a sunny day.
So…
The message started out looking like this:
I almost didn’t pick it up when I found it back in May 2011, because it looked like garbage. It looked like a few German folks shared a bottle of wine over dinner, packed their receipts into the bottle afterwards along with a (used?) napkin, and launched it overboard.
But I’m a sucker for mystery, and those little receipts with German type on them, rolled up like tiny scrolls, were too intriguing for me to pass up. Here’s what I found inside:
And this is why sometimes of a Monday night, I can be found pushing around flakes of sun-crisped paper on tinfoil in my message-in-a-bottle lab, which doubles as my living room.
You know how, sometimes, things start out seeming like fun and adventure, but end up complicated and flummoxing?
Yeah… so… It turns out that these scraps of paper are the thinnest, fragilest papers I have recovered from a bottle. Each little scroll is a receipt, and of course, receipt paper is thin and fragile to begin with. Put receipt paper in a bottle and let it cook in the sun and salty sea for several years (this message is at least a decade old), and what you get is brittle sun-burnt scraps, and disintegrated paper dust, like so:
There’s very little visible writing on these scraps, but enough that I am certain they are messages. However, this one may remain a mystery message forever, if I can’t find a name or any contact info.
All I can figure out is that this “S.O.S.” appears to be humorous:
Because this piece appears to say something in German about a (female) “beautiful terrorist”:
And this one has a little heart drawn on it, though it’s difficult to see in the photo:
Er… I hope this is meant to be humorous…
Anyway, a funny thing happens with messages like this, which is oddly like what happens when I come into a dark house from being outside on a very bright day: it takes my eyes a while to adjust. It’s strange to say this about a piece of paper right in front of my face, but it’s simply hard to see the writing. And every message is unique. My eyes have to adjust to the paper type, the color of ink, and especially to the writer’s handwriting, because what looks at first like an “N” may turn out to be a “U” or a “V”. Sometimes this takes weeks of looking at a particular message; other times, the writing remains indecipherable.
I mean–for crying out loud, what is THIS supposed to say?!
Ahhh! It makes me crazy! It’s… it’s… unfair that this message should survive so long and be found on a completely deserted island, only to be indecipherable!
Maybe my eyes will adjust in the coming weeks and I’ll be able to figure this out, but I’m not betting on it. This is easily among the most challenging mystery messages I’ve found.
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any tutorial on sending a message in a bottle for the ocean? dos and don’ts
Hi Dwayne! Good question–I gave some pointers in an article for the Salt Lake Tribune recently. Check it out here (I think the pointers are on the left side in a box as you scroll down):
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/58008056-78/buffington-bottle-message-bottles.html.csp
This is definitely a cool site. Good stories, illustrations, photos, and human interest.
These bottled documents seem to certificate a carousal. All the mystery may bee a beach party. 😉
I don’t know if you are still interested after more than one year, I don’t know, if you even read this.
But if you do: I think I can decipher the message on the second piece you show.
I think it means: “h[i]lfe bin in h[ä]nden eine[r?!] Schönen[?] [T]erroristin” (help (I) am in (the) hands of a beautiful(?) (female) terrorist).
But it seems to be wrong grammar so German might not be the writer’s first language.
The last line is just a row of numbers. Maybe a telephone number.
In the left there is a “0”. Probably even “00”, so it would be an international telephone number. On the other hand the next symbol seems to be a superscript “2”, so it might be a time: About 20 minutes after midnight.
In the middle there is “36” and the end is “64118”, but I don’t know if something missing in between.
I guess this only adds to the mystery …
Thanks for your help! I haven’t had a chance to work on this one in a while, but I’ll be sure to revisit your comment when I do.
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https://www.onekingslane.com/product/14460/740316
I came across this in a quest for a particular glass bottle and I couldn’t help but wonder if there was anyone out there dedicated to finding messages in bottles 😀
Hm, looking for a particular glass bottle, hey? I come across some unusual bottles in my travels… feel free to use the contact form if you’d like to see some of the stuff I’ve found. This link you’ve included is interesting, too. I didn’t know this particular niche was filled!
This is my favorite thing on the Internet. Thank you.
Thanks! You’re my new favorite reader!
Well, I promise to be your most loyal reader. I’m reading through back entries now, some very touching stories. I admire your dedication. I was having a very bad morning and somehow ended up here and the stories of connecting with people and your adorable illustrations turned my day around!
Glad to hear these stories helped! Also, your comment directed me to your flickr site–praise for my goofy drawings carries extra weight from you, since I think your work is great. Thanks!
You’re too kind, I’m very glad you liked my work. Thank you. I love your illustrations they add an element of humor to your story telling.
Great post, CB!
Here lies one whose name was writ on water…