Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Message in a Bottle: No Deposit, Yes Return

¿ A soda bottle dropped into the Pacific Ocean near Seattle, Washington, for a fourth-grade science project has washed ashore in Alaska -- 21 years later.

Merle Brandell, a bear-hunting guide in the fishing village of Nelson Lagoon, found the bottle recently while on the beach with his dog.

A note inside the bottle said it was part of a class assignment "to study oceans and learn about people in distant lands." The note was signed "Your friend, Emily Hwaung."

Brandell, who lives in a town reachable only by boat or plane, set about trying to find Emily. Eventually he did, thanks to school officials in Washington.

Emily is now a 30-year-old accountant named Emily Shih and lives in Seattle. She was stunned to learn that her bottle had traveled more than 1,700 miles at sea. But she says she can't remember the science project. "It was so long ago," she said. "Elementary school is kind of foggy."

¿ Protests disrupted the lighting of the Olympic flame in Ancient Olympia, Greece, yesterday.

A few people ran onto the field while the torch was being lit. As police removed the protesters, the flame began its 85,000-mile journey to Beijing, China, for the Olympic Games in August.

The protesters are angry about Chinese rule of Tibet. Unrest in Tibet has turned violent in recent weeks, and dozens of people have been killed.

But Greek officials said politics should have no place at the ceremony at the 2,800-year-old birthplace of the ancient Games.