'Oldest' message in a bottle found more than 108 years on
- 21 August 2015
- From the section UK
A message in a bottle that washed up more than 108 years after it was thrown into the sea may be the world's oldest, a marine association has said.
The bottle was released in the North Sea between 1904 and 1906 and found by a woman on a beach in Amrum, Germany.
Inside a postcard asked that it be sent to the Marine Biological Association of the UK, where the bottle was returned.
The association in Plymouth said the bottle was one of some 1,000 released as part of marine research.
One shilling reward
The research, looking at ocean currents, was carried out by George Parker Bidder, who went on to become MBA president from 1939 to 1945.
Inside each bottle was a postcard that promised a shilling to anyone who returned it.
An old English shilling was sent by the association to retired postal worker Marianne Winkler, who found the bottle in April during her holiday to the German island, about 310 miles (500km) away from the UK.
The association said it was waiting to hear whether it was a world record for the oldest message in a bottle found.
The existing world record for the oldest message in a bottle is 99 years and 43 days, found west of the Shetland Islands in July 2013.