ON THIS day 25 years ago: A BUSINESS card tossed into the sea in a bottle was picked up 16,000 kilometres away from Hong Kong in the United States. The story began two years before, in November 1967, when J. Jenner threw a bottle containing his card from a friend's boat in the Lamma Channel. It was found off Cape Defiance in the United States by a family who were out on a fishing trip and who lived just 30 minutes away from the Jenners' American home. The first Mr Jenner and his wife heard of the find was a letter from the American family. At first they thought it was a joke, but on closer examination they realised it was genuine. The letter, signed by the entire family, asked why there was Chinese writing on the back of the card and why an American would have an office on the other side of the world. Then Mr Jenner remembered throwing the bottle away. Records show there was a typhoon about that time and the currents could easily have swept the bottle on course to the US. Mrs Jenner wrote a long letter to the American family, explaining the incident and thanking them. The Jenners planned to contact them when they returned to the US. THE Department of Commerce and Industry had handed over $84,500 from a $200,000 Revenue Reward Fund set up for people who provided information which led to the seizure of gold bullion and dangerous drugs. A total of $81,660 was paid for information leading to seizures of gold, $1,400 for silver and $1,460 for dutiable commodities. The information resulted in 304 arrests.