It’s one of the strangest items ever plucked from the river -- a message in a bottle left floating for a decade.

The debris was found by a volunteer with the Quinnipiac River Watershed Association during an April 15 cleanup.

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"Hey person who finds this, I'm Amanda!" the note, dated April 26, 2007, reads, according to the Record-Journal. "I'm helping my best friend ever Shantel babysit her kid brother and sister."

The note also included a cellphone number and Myspace page. Neither are still in service.

It is one of the oddest items found during a cleanup, David James, watershed association president, told the Journal-Record.

It was found buried beneath some bushes. The cap was screwed on tight enough to allow the inside of the bottle to hold back water.

“It was clear enough still, even though it has apparently been in the river for 10 years, to see the note inside,” James said.

The bottle was cast in Southington and found near Meriden, about 8 miles away.

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Instructor Daniel Jean-Baptiste reminds students to "measure twice, cut once" while using a hand saw at the Construction Ready accelerated summer program at Westside Works in Atlanta on Wednesday, June 18, 2025. The program provides training for careers in construction and the skilled trades. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

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