I Don't Feel So Good
A few years back, I heard the story about a man who was walking on the beach looking for bait. While doing so, he happened to find a strange looking object on the sand. It looked like a piece of old decayed wood, but it smelled horribly. Nonetheless, he took it home out of curiousity. It was only until later when showing a friend was he told what it truly was; Whale Vomit.
Decay Never Smelled So Good
https://www.google.com/search?q=ambergris&espv=2&biw=1396&bih=873&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwiPlKWbtO7OAhVDy2MKHVbJCMwQ_AUIBigB
Link to other images since it can look vastly different
Whale vomit is a bit of a misnomer. What this person and many others have actually found on the beach is something called AMBERGRIS. It can come in many shapes, colors and sizes. It has an ordor that can be described such as rotten decaying fishy fecal matter. In other words, it smells nasty! That is the tell tale sign if you happen to be on the beach, and see a strange looking object that has a waxy or woodsy look but STINKS really bad. At this point, if you find something like this on the beach, you might considered bagging it and taking it home for later analysis.
Eau de STEEMIT
So you come home with a stinky smelly object that looks weird but smells like a dying piece of Fish poo only to have your significant other want to toss you and that object out into the streets. At this point you need to put the brakes on and let him or her know you might just have Whale Vomit, otherwise known as Ambergris. You explain to them that this is something the Sperm Whales of the Ocean make in there intestinal tract, and that it is most likely something that helps the whales excrete items that they cannot digest such as bones or the mouths(beaks) of Octopus'. It is believed that the Sperm Whales secretes this waxy substance and coats these bones and beaks as a form of lubricant to help pass these items. You further explain that it is a very rare substance, and with a glint in your eyes, you let them know that a pound of true Ambergris can go for up to $10,000 a pound.
Why would anyone want to buy ugly smelly whale poo or vomit? Since Ambergris can come from either end of the Whale, it is the chemical composition that is truly desired. Since ancient times, Ambergris has been highly desired. It has been traded as far back as 1000 b.c.. Everyone from the Egyptians to the Chinese have known and used Ambergris. Today it is used in very expensive perfumes for its qualities. It both adds a certain sweet marine scent as well as makes the potency of the scent last much longer. The addition of Ambergris can make the scent of 1 drop of a perfume on a paper last up to one month. So the next time you are on the beach and find a strange smelly rock or piece of wood, remember that the likes of Giorgio Armani or Yves Saint Laurent might also be looking for that same stinky rotten object too!
Here are a couple of old news stories I was able to find of some lucky folks who find Whale Vomit :
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-25715870
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/dog-walker-finds-lump-of-whale-1564302
09/01/2016
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sources:
pics: pixabay.com
wikipedia.com
google.com
http://www.ambergris.fr/information.html