Message in a bottle, promising finder a shilling, bobs up after 108 years

Communication thrown into sea by Plymouth biologist in 1906 and found by German woman confirmed as oldest in the world

When the distinguished marine biologist threw his message in a bottle into the sea, asking whoever found it to contact him, he wasn't expecting a speedy response. Which is just as well, because it took just over 108 years - now officially confirmed by Guinness World Records as the oldest such message in the world.

The German woman who found it has been given the reward promised in 1908, by the scientific institution which has inherited the debt of honour: a shilling.