Message In A Bottle: Litter?

[Blue Skye]

I love polls that require everyone to shut up, brings out the fun side of the forum

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Jammer Six

I remember now why I wanted a poll with no discussion. :bang head:

Why don't you all shut up and vote?

in this case the poll just shows that people want the the answer to be, as there is little doubt that throwing a bottle into the water is litter

"Litter consists of waste products that have been disposed improperly, without consent, at an inappropriate location. Litter can also be used as a verb. To litter means to throw (often man-made) objects onto the ground and leave them indefinitely or for others to dispose of as opposed to disposing of them properly."

[Coops]

Not quite. The question was "is it litter"? The majority of voters think that it isn't. Now you decide that they did not mean that, but that they wanted it to be that. Talk about fudging the results.

Coops.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Coops

Not quite. The question was "is it litter"? The majority of voters think that it isn't. Now you decide that they did not mean that, but that they wanted it to be that. Talk about fudging the results.

Coops.

I never said they "did not mean that", but what would that have to do with whether something is or isn't?

[Canibul]

What's the difference between a sunken bottle and a "reef ball" as a habitat for juvenile sea life?

The bottle is made from sand, to which it will return in time. The Reef Ball is made out of steel rebar and concrete.
They serve the same purpose, yet one is litter and the other is acceptable. Yet neither is a natural feature of the sea floor.

Have you ever watched a Lion fish eating small fish? They spread their pectoral fins out to block escape and herd the small fish up against rocks or trap them in places where they can inhale them. A bottle as a refuge would save a lot of fry from getting eaten.

[Delancey]

I can't think of anything more un-romantic than witnessing the beauty of the sea disfigured by human detritus. I crossed the Atlantic this summer and sadly nary a day passed that I didn't see at least one unnatural object that made my eyes sore in that vast expanse of wilderness.

It could be at that least one of those objects was a message in a bottle. I can't say for certain as I did my best to ignore them, unfortunately to little effect.

I can find only saccharin sweetness in knowing the majority of respondents to this poll would be disconcerted to wake up and find garbage on their front lawn or the dock of their marina and that they wouldn't put said litter in it's proper place, but I suppose one man's trash is another man's treasure. To each his own.

However, I find hypocrisy in the assertion that some forms of pollution are acceptable but others are not. There is nothing romantic about garbage unless you are a rat.

[Canibul]

and the difference between a bottle floating on the surface marring your view, and your boat floating on the surface marring someone else's view?

[Delancey]

The difference is that I am not antisocial.

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by Delancey

The difference is that I am not antisocial.

I believe most sailors are antisocial (which is not a bad thing).

We go out into the oceans to escape the maddening crowd.... but unfortunately not their garbage, or the problems associated with irresponsible breeding.

[Canibul]

I was told that I am basically asocial, rather than antisocial. It's not that I don't like people, it's more that I find very few of them that I would rather spend time with than do something else I want to do. Social media baffles me.

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by Canibul

Social media baffles me.

I think social media is somewhat of a misnomer.

Like Chinese food or tantric sex..... It does not satisfy everyone

[skipmac]

Comment from Delancey begs a question.

If someone put a message in a bottle and tossed in your front yard would you consider that litter?

Would it matter if the bottle was Budweiser or Dom Perignon?

If someone filled a bottle with gasoline, stuffed a message in the neck, lit it and threw it at ..... Never mind. I'm getting carried away here.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

I think social media is somewhat of a misnomer.

Like military intelligence?

[Canibul]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Comment from Delancey begs a question.

If someone put a message in a bottle and tossed in your front yard would you consider that litter?

Would it matter if the bottle was Budweiser or Dom Perignon?

If someone filled a bottle with gasoline, stuffed a message in the neck, lit it and threw it at ..... Never mind. I'm getting carried away here.

"I think it's okay we get carried away
if I don't have to carry you back".
(Boat Dog Blues)

In this case, perhaps the bottle is being recycled from it's original purpose of keeping liquids in, to keeping them out. It's been saved from a landfill, and reused as a pressure vessel to protect a message. Kinda of like the jacket on co-ax....

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by Canibul

In this case, perhaps the bottle is being recycled from it's original purpose of keeping liquids in, to keeping them out. It's been saved from a landfill, and reused as a pressure vessel to protect a message. Kinda of like the jacket on co-ax....

I think this would only apply if the message was an essential message, for example if you were stranded on a desert island and the message was a call for help.

Which makes me wonder, when Tom Hanks was castaway on the island why didn't he put a few messages in bottles? Certainly with all the sailors tossing them over the side a few bottles would have washed up on his beach that he could have recycled for his own message.