A bottle that has floated in the sea for more than six decades before washing up on the coast has surprised more than just a few! There is nothing new in stories about bottles floating in the sea with messages inside. However, this bottle reached the coast in the third week of June 2024 with a message of monetary reward!

According to researchers, this particular bottle was tossed in the sea more than six decades ago! Researchers are of the opinion that someone had released the bottle from an island as a part of a research project. Perhaps, the person tossed the bottle in the sea off Machias Seal Island in the Bay of Fundy between the US State of Maine and Nova Scotia in Canada in 1961 to study the nature of currents on the sea surface. Since then, it has floated to the rhythm of the sea waves. Finally, the bottle has been discovered at the northern tip of Cape Cod, near Boston.

The Fisheries and Oceans Canada has issued a statement, mentioning that a message was placed inside the bottle to let someone know where and when they found it! The statement added that the move would help researchers to learn about the surface flow of ocean current. As per the message kept inside the bottle, the finder would receive USD 1 as reward if that person informed researchers of its location! Incidentally, the value of USD 1 was much higher in 1961. However, it is not clear whether the offer is still valid.

A senior spokesperson of Fisheries and Oceans Canada stressed that it was basically a drift bottle that was used to track surface currents. He stated: “Starting in 1922, researchers tracked surface currents by releasing bottles into the ocean, relying on people to let them know when and where bottles were found. This ‘old-school’ technology only helped understand the recovery locations and dates.”

The spokesperson further said: “Information on ocean currents helps us understand how to minimise potential human impacts, like oil spills. Satellites and supercomputers are now providing better estimates of currents.” “We have come just a little way since 1961, don’t you think?” he asked.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das