Bottles Full Of Ashes?

[+DavidMac]

The Great Smoky Mountains Geocaching Club completed our first Adopt a Highway CITO event today . If you visit East TN sometime after next month, be sure to look for our sign on the road between Maryville and Townsend. The event went well and was without incident, but I came across something odd along the side of the road. About 200 feet apart, I found two glass bottles nearly full of what appeared to be grey/white ashes or powder. Does anybody know what this could possibly be from? One possibility I came up with is that somebody used a bottle as an ashtray, but they would have to smoke alot of cigarettes- these were 12 ounce bottles that were nearly full. Plus, one of the bottles was not capped and had no discernible odor as far as I could tell, which made me wonder if it was something worse. Has anybody come across something like this before?

[+QDman]

I was wondering where grandma and grandpa got off to!

[+Planet]

I wouldn't be sticking my nose into a bottle of unknown powdery substance if I were you. What with meth labs and stuff like that. I would just keep it sealed and toss it in the dumpster. I don't know if I'd report it to anyone. But for heaven's sake don't smell it!

[+Renegade Knight]

If it's cremated remains their was metal tag with a serial number that's included wiht the ashes. If you find one in the jar you can trace it to it's owner. If you don't you really wouldn't have a way to verity it was someones ashes, let alone a way to tell it apart from cleaning out a wood stove. Most of us can't tell ashes from ashes.

[+DavidMac]

I wouldn't be sticking my nose into a bottle of unknown powdery substance if I were you. What with meth labs and stuff like that. I would just keep it sealed and toss it in the dumpster. I don't know if I'd report it to anyone. But for heaven's sake don't smell it!

Trust me, I didn't just stick my nose in there. I'm pretty sensitive to the smell of cigarette smoke, and usually even a few fresh butts in a coke can has a slight odor. And the opened bottle looked pretty fresh- no moisture in it at all. I wasn't about to dump it out, but just threw both of them away.

[+Wabsrck]

There is a tradition that started in the 1800's where scouts would keep a chain of ashes going basically a scout would get ashes from a fire then take it to a different fire and dump them in then every single person from that fire would take ashes from that fire and then it would keep spreading. But the stuff you found probably wasnt it.

[Team WorldPeaceTurtle]

Did the bottles look old?

 

Someone could have dumped the bottles "back in the day" and now the contents have degraded... I would definitely approach with caution. A large percentage of our team (myself included) works in the environmental field - we've found all sorts of things including buried glass bottles full of pesticides, old paint, etc. If they're in the trash now (presumably sealed/in a bag) at least they're in a better disposal location.

[LgRedneck08]

I was wondering where grandma and grandpa got off to!

LOL!! I dont know if i would be smelling it though. I would be scared i would go !!

[Silentshadow]

I just love a mystery and had to read this discussion. Glad you didnt *smell* the stuff.....but if you uncorked it the smell of cigarette, especially if you dont smoke, would of hit you hard. I dont think it was *remains* of anyone or anthing as cremated remains looks alot like *kitty litter*.....little bits of grey, blue, green, black, brown, hard stone type looking things, along with some light grey dust. Not sure if anyone wanted to know that but if anyone ever runs into something that looks like that....well you'll know. It is strange that someone would put dust into a bottle though.....hmmm......something to think about..

[camogirl]

maybe someone was blasting off bottle rockets

 

*clap*

[camogirl]

maybe someone was shooting off bottle rockets

[+Team Red Oak]

My husband lived in Yakima WA when Mt. St. Helens blew her top in 1980. We have a very large glass jar (industrial size pickle jar) full of ashes he scooped up from his back yard. The ash is very fine and grey in color. He labeled the jar so if someone down the road finds it in our attic after we're gone they will know what it is.

 

I don't know of any similar incidents in TN that would make someone put ashes into a bottle though.

 

Girl Scouts still keep a chain of ashes going and since you were near the Great Smokey Mountains maaaaaaayyybee they were lost by a scout troop or a church group, or campfire girls/boys.

 

What an interesting mystery, tossing them in the trash was the best idea.

[+Colorado Cacher]

Instant relative. Just addd water.