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The Vomit Worth Millions?

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the just-plain-gross dept.

ozmanjusri writes "ABC is reporting that a family in Australia recently found a large lump of ambergris, which they believe may be worth millions. It is a fascinating material, created by a sperm whale's intestine in response to irritation, probably caused by the undigested beaks of squid. The waxy mass is coughed out by the whale during a belch which is reported to be audible kilometers away, and is a putrid stinking mass. Floating in salt water and exposure to sunlight for ten years or more matures the waxy blob into a grey, sweet smelling solid which is used as a base for perfumes. Although the family may be able to sell the ambergris, it cannot be used in Australia or the US, since both countries are signatories to the Washington Treaty, which bans the trade of musk deer and whale products for perfume."

4 of 101 comments (clear)

  1. Can't be sold by cheesee · · Score: 3, Informative

    Ambergris is classified as a product of a whale under Australian law, so the family is unable to sell it commercially. It can be sold for research purposes but it requires permits for export. The most they can do with it in Australia is donate it to a museum or use it as centerpiece for their dining room table.

    --
    Got Shadowrun? Awakened Worlds
  2. Unfortunately... by madaxe42 · · Score: 3, Informative

    It's actually more often than not illegal to posess it - as it's a product of an endangered species - if they don't burn it, and soon, they could find themselves doing jail time.

  3. Contradicts Moby Dick! by 4181 · · Score: 4, Informative
    The article states: If you were to take it ... immediately after the whale has expelled it, then you would put it back in the water, because apparently the smell is horrific.

    But in chapter 91 of Moby Dick, The Pequod Meets The Rose-Bud, Stubb fast talks a French whaler out of a dead bloated whale, and then harvests a purse of ambergris directly from its bowels.

    --
    Stubb to the French Captain via a symapthetic interpreter: Thank him heartily; but tell him it's against my principles to drink with the man I've diddled.

  4. For more amusement... by NoseBag · · Score: 4, Informative

    ...Read "Perfume" by Patrick Suskind for more information on disgusting substances used in the perfume industry. Its also a hell of a good story.

    If you think whale barf is bad, check out civet.

    --
    Cloned foods give the statement "We had that last week!" a whole new meaning.