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<\/p>\nAn elderly retired fisherman who was cleaning a beach stumbled across a message in a bottle from 1997, and from thousands of miles away.<\/p>\n
Frenchman Hubert Eriau, 71, found the bottle washed up on a beach in Sables-d'Olonne, on the Atlantic coast of western France. Inside was a letter from American students 'posted' in 1997. The students had been working on ocean currents in science class.<\/p>\n
The letter, signed off by a Benjamin Lyons, had no personal content, but mentioned a class assignment of the students at Forestdale School in Sandwich, Massachusetts.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Couple discover message in a bottle on beach \u2013 but are horrified by what it says<\/b><\/p>\n
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Hubert stated that this is not the first time he has received such a message on his beach-combing exercises. He said he "spends his mornings fishing and cleaning".<\/p>\n
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UPI reports that the exercise was done for a Frederic J. Hemmila's sceince class. The teacher handed the bottles to a boat captain who was his friend.<\/p>\n
Hubert said he came across the message on August 11. <\/p>\n
Carol Archambeault, a 6th grade science teacher in the district, said other messages in bottles from Hemmila's class have been found over the years, including one in Greenland.<\/p>\n
But not all messages in bottles are sweet, as Rick and Cyrstal, a couple from Queensland, Australia, recently found out.<\/p>\n
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Naturally, they expected to find a love note or a message from a new penpal when they found a bottle on a beach.<\/p>\n
But while the bottle contained a note and what appeared to be sand, it turned out to be the ashes of a man named Geoff along with a note detailing his last wishes.<\/p>\n
As reported by News.au.com. it said: \u201cHere lies the ashes of Geoffrey, if found please throw the bottle in the outgoing tide so I can continue my journey.\u201d <\/p>\n
As soon as Rick realised what was actually inside the bottle, he said \u201cOh no\u201d.<\/p>\n
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