Message in a Bottle Travels From Hawaii to Florida, Connecting Two Families

Thought Question: If you could send a message to someone halfway around the world, what would it say?

As far as journeys are concerned, this one surely ranks among the most impossible.

The traveler in question is a message in a bottle. The small glass container was discovered by 11-year-old Josie Law. She found it on the beach of Anna Maria Island off the coast of Florida in May.

"I thought it was a piece of trash, and then I saw the note in a bottle and I was like, 'It's a note in a bottle,'" Josie told 10 Tampa Bay News.

To Josie’s delight, the message in the bottle was legible. "Hello, people who found this,” it read. “You will be happy that you found this. Why? Because you will know me with this number."

Josie's family was visiting the island on vacation from Michigan. She convinced her mother to text the phone number. They heard back shortly thereafter. The note had been written by a 21-year-old woman in Hawaii. The woman, who declined to give her name to the media, told Josie that she had thrown the bottle and message into the Pacific Ocean eight years ago. How it ended up in Florida was a mystery to both. Thousands of people commented on a Facebook post about the bottle, wondering if the bottle was real or a prank. The post went viral.

To see if Josie’s discovery was legitimate, 10 Tampa Bay News asked lead meteorologist Bobby Deskins if there was any way for a small bottle to make it from Hawaii all the way to Florida. It turns out there is. The journey is tricky, though, relying on multiple currents and the cooperation of a hurricane or two.

“So yes, technically it’s possible,” Deskins reported.

Gif of message in a bottle courtesy @emmamotion on GIPHY.