Would you write a message in a bottle?
By Cahaya
@cahaya1983 (11116)
Malaysia
November 19, 2017 12:38am CST
Because people tend to gravitate towards all sorts of intriguing stuff in the world, right? 
You've probably heard real-life stories involving bottled messages. Pretty amazing stories too, although I think the whole thing has been romanticized a lot in movies and literature that most of us think it's all about love messages.
I don't think most people know that bottled messages were initially used to study ocean currents. In fact, I was surprised to know the different stories and themes behind those messages. Stories of survival, for instance. Confession. Propaganda.
Would you write a message in a bottle for any reason? What kind of message (or things!) would you put inside the bottle? 
You've probably heard real-life stories involving bottled messages. Pretty amazing stories too, although I think the whole thing has been romanticized a lot in movies and literature that most of us think it's all about love messages.
I don't think most people know that bottled messages were initially used to study ocean currents. In fact, I was surprised to know the different stories and themes behind those messages. Stories of survival, for instance. Confession. Propaganda.
Would you write a message in a bottle for any reason? What kind of message (or things!) would you put inside the bottle? 
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Message in a bottle (disambiguation). This bottle and its contents (sample postcard and insert shown above) were launched in 1959 as part of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic S
17 people like this
21 responses
@thewaher (27)
• Germany
19 Nov 17
I don't think that I would. The idea that I don't know where it would land or who would see it makes it hard to choose what I would write if I did. There is also the fact that throwing a bottle into the ocean with a message is probably not very good for the environment.
3 people like this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
20 Nov 17
Good point! I was wondering if anyone would thought about the environmental side of it because this was actually brought up by some people who are concerned about bottles ending up on the beaches and all. 
1 person likes this
@YrNemo (20255)
•
19 Nov 17
I think the whole idea is silly, unless I was stranded on an unknown island with no way to get out (and there were pen, paper, bottle etc ready for me to use 
).
If just for fun, I would write, 'Do ignore this message, my life has enough trouble as it is, don't add more to it please!'
).
If just for fun, I would write, 'Do ignore this message, my life has enough trouble as it is, don't add more to it please!' 2 people like this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
20 Nov 17
@YrNemo Yikes! That was my thought when @pitsipeahie mentioned about the app. Some people might misuse that, the virtual world can be a scary place nowadays. 
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
20 Nov 17
That's so funny! Not a typical message anyone would expect to find in a bottle for sure. 
1 person likes this
@YrNemo (20255)
•
20 Nov 17
@cahaya1983 Just to show you, I don't see any advantage normally with putting a message in any bottle. With cyber and social media, I heard quite a few have faced unpleasant surprises. I heard of women flirting on the net, pretended to be single, only to have their admirers travelling thousands of miles -
knocking on their front doors, wanting to marry them. (One guy sold his house and wrecked his own marriage to travel from one continent to another, doing that. All three cyber girlfriends from France turned out to be happily married each with a bunch of kids!)
He deserved that, right? (Those women got a fright, perhaps that would fix them too!)
1 person likes this
@1hopefulman (45120)
• Canada
21 Nov 17
If I was stranded on an island I would write and ask to be rescued. Unless, it was so beautiful and then I would write just to let my relatives know that I was alive and well.
1 person likes this
@1hopefulman (45120)
• Canada
21 Nov 17
@cahaya1983 Yes, it could be swallowed by some big fish.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
21 Nov 17
Except that you can't be sure that the bottle would ever reach your relatives!
1 person likes this
@moirai (2853)
• Philippines
20 Nov 17
Hahaha. Romanticized. Yes, I agree.
Would I write a message in a bottle? Why would I do that?
If it's a love message... why? Hmm... I wouldn't expect my love message to reach the person I intend it for, so...no. 
Not for that reason. I'm feeling practical right now.
If it's a message without a specific target... why? I would probably just shout the message into the air.
Besides, caring for the environment is the in thing nowadays. Message or not, throwing a bottle into the ocean is probably not a good idea.
So basically, no.
Not for that reason. I'm feeling practical right now.
If it's a message without a specific target... why? I would probably just shout the message into the air.
Besides, caring for the environment is the in thing nowadays. Message or not, throwing a bottle into the ocean is probably not a good idea.
So basically, no. 1 person likes this
@moirai (2853)
• Philippines
22 Nov 17
@cahaya1983 Interesting. I wonder what beach he searched.
I suppose the beaches where people go to swim are relatively clean. (I don't really know.) I mean, I expect there are people who clean those places somewhat. But I have seen beaches (that no one would swim at) that are just full of trash. :( (I just saw it from afar, don't know if there were any bottled messages there. )
Anyway, I wonder too if the bottle being glass vs. plastic makes a difference at all...
)
Anyway, I wonder too if the bottle being glass vs. plastic makes a difference at all...1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
23 Nov 17
@moirai I'm not sure but I think he visits different beaches, can't remember where he lives exactly.
Well in terms of usage of course glass bottles are more eco-friendly because plastic might contain BPA and polycarbonate and that kind of stuff. But if we're talking about the trash that would pile up on the beach then I suppose it doesn't really make a difference.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
21 Nov 17
I'm actually glad that there are many people who realize how it would affect the environment. I read that one guy actually went on a "mission" to search for bottled messages and was surprised at the amount of bottles that polluted the beach. Empty ones, of course. So he kind of made it into a 2-in-1 mission now. Finding the bottled mesages and picking up trash that he finds on the beach, too.
1 person likes this
@pitsipeahie (5011)
•
19 Nov 17
Yeah probably just for fun. I ain't gonna write anything serious on it. I remember this mobile app I once had that allows you to write a message in a bottle and throw it in a virtual sea. Your message may be fished out by somebody and if that somebody likes to respond then he/she can and vice versa. I forgot the name of the app though as that was a long time ago.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
20 Nov 17
Oh I had no idea there is such an app. Interesting concept but with so many Internet predators these days I'm not sure if that's safe. Have you used it?
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
20 Nov 17
@pitsipeahie Oh okay. It's a creative way of defining "message in a bottle" though for sure, haha.
It's a creative way of defining "message in a bottle" though for sure, haha.2 people like this
@pitsipeahie (5011)
•
20 Nov 17
@cahaya1983 Yes just a few times, just for the heck of trying. I have this habit of trying apps I found interesting. I think its a messenger app or something. I've fished some bottles responded to some, threw others back to the sea. Tried throwing my own too. I got bored after awhile - uninstalled the app eventually hehe
2 people like this
@misunderstood_zombie (8142)
• United States
20 Nov 17
I would like to, but I can't think of one profound thing I would write on the paper. Maybe, I could write down all bad stuff in life and throw it in the ocean and never think of it again.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
21 Nov 17
Hmm so in that case you wouldn't hope that the bottle would ever be found by anyone, right?
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
21 Nov 17
@misunderstood_zombie If it was found you'd probably end up making that person depressed!
1 person likes this
@misunderstood_zombie (8142)
• United States
21 Nov 17
@cahaya1983 Oh yeah, I didn't think about that. That
made me laugh.
1 person likes this
@kaka135 (14931)
• Malaysia
20 Nov 17
Thank you for sharing this. I always thought the bottled message was initially used to get help when someone was striving in the ocean. I don't think I would do that. I can't think of any reasons to do so, and I think it also isn't good to throw a bottle into the ocean. If I really want to leave a message, I would prefer to put a message in a wooden box and bury under the ground. Perhaps a message to my future self or my children to find out in future. 
1 person likes this
@kaka135 (14931)
• Malaysia
21 Nov 17
@cahaya1983 Yes, I think if there is no other way, perhaps that might be a hope with the bottled message when we are in the center of the sea.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
21 Nov 17
I don't even know how long it would take for that bottle to be found (if it is ever found). I doubt I would do it either, unless it's a really desperate situation.
1 person likes this
@allen0187 (58582)
• Philippines
20 Nov 17
I would given the chance and I'll write a positive message in the bottle. Can't think of a specific one right now but something uplifting and inspiring.
1 person likes this
@allen0187 (58582)
• Philippines
20 Nov 17
@cahaya1983 true.
I want to spread as much positive vibes around the world as I can.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
20 Nov 17
Good idea. You never know who would end up reading it, maybe someone who really needs it at that moment.
You never know who would end up reading it, maybe someone who really needs it at that moment.1 person likes this
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
20 Nov 17
I have done it a couple times. just for fun. put in my address and name and say hi. never got an answer. I was a teen at the time
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
21 Nov 17
Maybe you can check it here? If you're lucky
Real Messages in Bottles and Other Stories From the Sea
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
22 Nov 17
That makes sense. I'd rather do the searching too than sending one myself.
1 person likes this
@jobelbojel (36021)
• Philippines
21 Nov 17
I can only do this on WhatsApp - I think that there is a feature on the app
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
21 Nov 17
To send a message...in a bottle? I've been using Whatsapp for years now, didn't notice there's a feature like that.
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
21 Nov 17
Same here, not interested either. I find the stories interesting though, especially many many years ago when they used that as a way to seek help.
1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
19 Nov 17
maybe if i am in an island and there is no help. but i don't think i can do this because i do go island-hopping. i don't know how to swim too
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
20 Nov 17
So you can send the message from every island you hop on to then! Imagine how many bottles would be floating in the ocean, haha.
Imagine how many bottles would be floating in the ocean, haha.1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
21 Nov 17
@cahaya1983 yes if i am in an island. but that is next to impossible because i have no plans of leaving our ancestral home
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
20 Nov 17
Well I think the intriguing part of it all is not knowing where it would end up and who would find it, if it ever gets found.
@Hannihar (130213)
• Israel
20 Nov 17
@cahaya1983
Cahaya, then I would have to think about writing a message in it before I do it and what the message would say.
1 person likes this
@shaggin (72184)
• United States
20 Nov 17
I wouldn't do it personally as I don't want to litter. There is a teacher I saw in an online article who every year has all her students make one and she drops them off. A few have been found and its educational for the students but that is also a lot of bottles being dumped in the ocean. If we figure 100 students in 10 years thats 1000 bottles.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
20 Nov 17
Yes another member also pointed the environmental downsides of it. But what the teacher does is taking it a bit too far, I think. That's a lot of bottles!
1 person likes this
@Shellyann36 (11384)
• United States
20 Nov 17
Only if I were stranded on a deserted island. There are too many pieces of trash floating around in the oceans now.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
21 Nov 17
Yeah actually there were real cases where people did that because they were stranded and hoped the message would reach someone who could help them.
@yanzalong (18987)
• Indonesia
20 Nov 17
Unless the bottle is a special one that you put on your desk. Everyday you may change the message, right?
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
21 Nov 17
Oh so you're talking about the messages you would write to yourself, kept in a bottle? That's actually pretty interesting as well.
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
20 Nov 17
Well if that happens then you better hope some scuba divers end up finding it and be curious enough to put it back together!
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
20 Nov 17
So you would do it then? What sort of message would you write?
@BelleStarr (61102)
• United States
20 Nov 17
No, I don't think so, I don't see the point of it.
1 person likes this
@cahaya1983 (11116)
• Malaysia
20 Nov 17
Considering the circumstances I don't think it's going to benefit me in any way either.
1 person likes this
