Gravity-Defying Message in a Bottle

Looks like another case of the old Message in a Bottle hoax.

Two years ago 4-year-old Libbi Wallace threw a bottled message into the Kennebec River, inspired by her dad's tales of doing so as a kid. According to Maine's The Times Record, she recently received a reply from someone who claimed to have found her bottle while kayaking on Lake Erie. Her correspondent chose to remain anonymous, identifying themselves only as "Surprised in Cleveland."

But as Brian Bienkowski of the Great Lakes Echo points out, it would be physically impossible for a bottle to float from Maine's Kennebec River to Lake Erie.

For a start, the Kennebec flows into the Atlantic Ocean. To get to Lake Erie, the bottle would have to float up to the St. Lawrence River, head upstream for hundreds of miles, and somehow get over Niagara Falls.

Perhaps someone carried it to Lake Erie. Or, as Bienkowski asks: "Is 'Surprised in Cleveland' really 'Loving Father in Bath, Maine?'"

Exploration/Travel

Posted on Wed Aug 31, 2011


Comments

My vote is on Daddy though why on Earth he'd then take the story to the media is beyond me. Living vicariously through his daughter perhaps?
Posted by Nettie  on  Thu Sep 01, 2011  at  02:44 AM
OR someone did pull the bottle out while vacationing far from their own home, carried it home after the vacation and THEN responded.
Posted by hulitoons  on  Thu Sep 01, 2011  at  05:11 AM
hulitoons -- the letter writer specifically mentioned finding it in Lake Erie. Could have lied about that, but then it would still be a hoax.
Posted by The Curator  in  San Diego  on  Thu Sep 01, 2011  at  05:33 AM
Whew, yeah, that bottle would seem to be miracle....NOT! I believe I was still sleeping when I made my comment!
Posted by hulitoons  on  Thu Sep 01, 2011  at  07:02 PM
This is actually a very cute hoax! Wish i had a dad like that :(
Posted by SixSixteen  on  Fri Jul 20, 2012  at  11:07 AM
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