Posted on 02/01/2013 11:20:44 AM PST by JoeProBono
MORECAMBE, England, A British man said he was walking his dog on the beach when the canine discovered a lump of whale vomit -- also known as ambergris -- worth some $158,550.
Ken Wilman said his boxer, Madge, discovered the smelly lump on a Morecambe, England, beach and an online search identified the 6-pound object as ambergris, an ingredient in perfume that could be worth as much as $158,550, The Mirror reported Thursday.
"It smelled horrible. I left it, came back home and looked it up on the Internet," Wilman said. "When I saw how much it could be worth, I went back and grabbed it. It is like walking on the beach and finding a bag of 50,000 pounds [$79,275] in cash."
Wilman said he will send a sample of the lump to France to verify it is authentic ambergris, vomit from a sperm whale.
That’s not whale vomit. That’s a whale’s kidney stone.
How can “an ingredient in perfume” and “It smelled horrible” be talking about the same thing?
Maybe it was the world’s first “musk”.
whale pellets?
you learn the damndest things on FR
I wonder how many womens know they are coating themselves in whale vomit to attract a feller.
I remember seeing a short film once that was supposed to be based on a true event. Someone finds something on the beech he thinks is ambergris. Soon there’s a mad scramble with everyone on the beech is trying to get some of it. They all end up covered in it.
Turns out it was some kind of animal poop.
Wonder if cat hairballs could be a substitute?
You forgot to put [BARF ALERT} at the end of your title. Also, whale oil was used in the Hubbel space telescope. Very interesting!
I can imagine many years ago some guy walking along the beach and he stumbles upon some whale vomit and says “Hey, there’s some whale vomit! That’s smells like sh*t, I think I’ll make some perfume outta that!” LOL
Good luck milking one!
“Wonder if cat hairballs could be a substitute?”
Yes.
Maybe I have just found a use for all of that dog %^&* that I have been throwing over the fence.
..’I catch the scent of Ambergris
and turn my head, surprised’..
Darks fault!
Probably should have left it there for the tax man...
They use the ambergis after it has been refined and liquified
From Wiki:
Freshly produced ambergris has a marine, fecal odor. However, as it ages, it acquires a sweet, earthy scent commonly likened to the fragrance of rubbing alcohol without the vaporous chemical astringency.[2] The principal historical use of ambergris was as a fixative in perfumery, though it has now been largely displaced by synthetics.
That's a pretty well-known fact. Still, it makes me wonder who discovered noxious whale puke's beneficial uses and how.
The White House lawn would probably be a good place to hunt for that.
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