Read the article about a woman who discovered an old message inside a bottle, and then answer the following questions. The idea of throwing a message in a bottle into the sea and hoping someone far away will read it one day is exciting. Where will it land? Who will find it? When? One Australian family found the answers to these questions while on a day out on a remote beach near the city of Perth. Tonya Illman and her family had all been swimming. While her husband was packing the car, she was picking up some rubbish when she saw an old bottle sticking out of the sand. She thought it would look nice on her bookshelf so she showed it to her son, who commented that it looked like one they had in their living room. They noticed something inside that looked like an old cigarette. Tonya shook it out and realised it was a rolled-up piece of paper, tied with string for protection. Although not much water had got in, the paper was still damp. Tonya was tempted to unroll it and let it dry in the hot sun, but decided to take it home and put it in a cool oven instead. Later, when she opened up the paper, Tonya was astonished to see that it was a form printed in German. The bottle's thick glass meant the form had avoided exposure to the weather. She was really excited when she saw the date that had been filled in - 12 June 1886! The family looked online and found that the oldest message in a bottle dated from 1906 and was found in 2015. Tonya's message was 20 years older, which was a new world record! The information on the form stated that the bottle had been thrown from a ship called Paula that was originally from Germany. It was heading from Wales to its destination in Indonesia. The form requested that anyone finding the bottle should contact the nearest German embassy with details of their discovery. Tonya's family weren't sure whether the form was genuine so they decided to take the bottle and its contents to the Western Australian Museum. After carefully examining the form, the museum staff told the family that it was in good condition for its age. They believed it had been buried in the sand for over a century, which had kept it safe, until a huge storm had most likely uncovered it. The museum contacted experts in Germany, who were able to check the captain's diary from the ship Paula. The diary described the ship's location when the bottle was thrown into the sea. Amazingly, this corresponded exactly with the location given on the form from the bottle! The diary had been handwritten by the captain, who gave his name as Captain O. Diekmann. Even more exciting was the fact that although there was no name given, the captain's handwriting in the diary was identical to the handwriting on the form. This was final proof that the message in the bottle was indeed genuine. The museum explained that in the nineteenth century, German ships were conducting tests to study the movement of ocean currents. In order to do this, hundreds of bottles were thrown into the ocean. Each bottle contained a form with the ship's name, the date, and the place where the bottle was dropped, with the hope that someone would report where it was found. The experiment lasted 69 years, and 662 bottles have been returned so far. Tonya's bottle is the oldest - at least until the next one is discovered... 1 What was Tonya Illman doing when she found the bottle? 2 Where did Tonya plan to display the bottle when she got home? 3 How did Tonya dry the piece of paper? 4 What year was written on the form? $$\(5 \quad\)$$ Where was the ship travelling to? 6 What was the person who found the form asked to do? 7 Which two details in the ship's diary matched those on the form? . 8 What was the purpose of the German experiment?

Answer:

picking up rubbish
(on her) bookshelf
(put it) in (cool) oven
\(1886\)
Indonesia
contact (nearest) German embassy
Award 1 mark for each detail up to a maximum 2 marks:
(ship's) location / place where the bottle was dropped
(captain's / author's) handwriting
study (movement of) ocean currents

Knowledge points:

Solution: