# Message in a bottle?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/message-in-a-bottle/186616>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 6, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/message-in-a-bottle/186616 "2003-07-06T20:33:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Ouisch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/82dd89/32.png) [@Ouisch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ouisch)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/message-in-a-bottle/186616/1 "2003-07-06T20:33:42Z")

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I recently read an anecdote about Daisy Singer Alexander, heiress to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune. The story was that in lieu of a will, she put a message in a bottle and tossed it into the Thames River. The message said that whomever found it could lay claim to her money. A man in San Francisco found the bottle 10 years later.

This story has “urband legend” written all over it in my mind, but I can’t find any info on Snopes or anywhere else. Is anyone familiar with this tale, and is there any truth to it?

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**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/message-in-a-bottle/186616/2 "2003-07-06T20:57:47Z")

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The chances of a bottle tossed into the Thames showing up in San Francisco in ten years (or even 100) are close to nil.

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**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/message-in-a-bottle/186616/3 "2003-07-06T21:05:31Z")

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Showing up in Kiel, possible.

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**Author:** ![Ouisch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/82dd89/32.png) [@Ouisch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ouisch)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/message-in-a-bottle/186616/4 "2003-07-06T21:06:45Z")

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\<i\>The chances of a bottle tossed into the Thames showing up in San Francisco in ten years (or even 100) are close to nil.\<i\>

That’s part of what made the story so unbelievable…that bottle had to make its way through the Isthmus of Panama or some such to get to San Francisco. A bottle with a mission.

I’m wondering also if the story was attributed to a Singer heir because it would be so difficult to trace - apparently Isaac Singer produced 24 children between his two wives and many mistresses.

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**Author:** ![raygirvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@raygirvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raygirvan)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/message-in-a-bottle/186616/5 "2003-07-06T21:18:03Z")

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_Is anyone familiar with this tale?_

No, but I share your suspicions. On the web, it crops up mostly as an inspirational story on religious websites, the near-identical wording with slight garbling (e.g. the finder is sometimes called “Wurm” and sometimes “Wrum”) suggesting it’s just being copied around without validation.

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**Author:** ![raygirvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@raygirvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raygirvan)\
**Post date:** [July 6, 2003, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/message-in-a-bottle/186616/6 "2003-07-06T21:48:33Z")

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_Isthmus of Panama_

[This version](http://www.knology.net/~hopechurch/sermons/Ecclesiates9-11-18.htm) alleges a scenario of it going up into the Arctic, eastwards over the top of the former USSR, then down through the Bering Straits into the Pacific.