World's oldest message in a bottle found (2018)
As of March 2018, the oldest message in a bottle ever found was 132 years old when it was discovered. Tonya Illman was simply walking among sand dunes in Western Australia with a friend when she discovered a very old gin bottle that she thought would be nice for her bookshelf. It was found that the bottle was dropped overboard from a ship to study Ocean currents. The vessel that dropped the message in the Indian Ocean was a German research ship called Paula.
Activity Ideas
- Create your own message in a bottle – here
- Have a sing along to Message in a Bottle by The Police – here
- Did you know the oldest bottle was located in Western Australia? Have a watch – here
- Put your own coded messages in a bottle with our activity – here
- Plan a treasure hunt with our activity – here
- Accompany the treasure hunt with our DIY Pirate treasure map – here
- Have a read of our Message in a Bottle digest – here
