Ambergris or 'Floating Gold' is a rare and valuable substance used for centuries by perfume makers as a 'fixative' to give scents a lasting odor on the skin. At first no-one knew what it was or where it came from, apart from that it was found in the sea. Theories included tree sap, underwater mushrooms or even tar from submerged volcano's. The fancy perfume ingredient was eventually traced back to the digestive system of the great Sperm Whale! When found washed up on beaches quality specimens have a value of around $10 000 per pound, about the same price as 18ct Gold !
Ambergris (grey amber) is formed when Sperm Whales eat squid, and their bony beaks cause a hard waxy growth to form in the whales intestines that gets bigger over time. The substance is produced in the stomach, helping to protect the whales insides from the sharp objects. Eventually causing a blockage in its guts, the whale will Vomit or sometimes Poop this lump out where it floats on the ocean reacting with the salt and sunlight. It oxidises and changes over many years even decades until reaching peak ripeness. It starts off black with a very 'fecal' smell but eventually turns to white which smells much sweeter.
Ambergris has had many uses throughout history. The ancient egyptians used it as incense where it was believed to have aphrodisiac effects, it was used in the middle ages as a headache cure, and during the Black Death people thought it would Protect them from the Plague. Synthetic versions are now available but many French perfume makers still prefer the real thing, as it adds a distinctive note to the scent that can't be replicated. It contains a compound called ambrein, an alcoholic terpene that is proven to stimulate sexual behaviour in rats.
Some enormous pieces of Ambergris have been found. Fishermen from Oman found an 80kg piece valued at over $3million. It it so valuable because it can only be produced by sperm whales and aged naturally for years in the ocean. Also it has been found that only 1% of sperm whales have it in their bodies so it is one of the rarest natural resources on the planet.
It can be found Worldwide so keep your eyes open for these alien looking lumps when your walking on the shore! Small pieces can be worth thousands but big lumps can make you a Millionaire! One of my mums friends from Wales in UK recently found a medium quality piece weighing 1kg that was sold at action for £14 000! It is often mistaken as Palm oil, ambergris has a distinctive deep fishy animal smell and a hard waxy texture. Its colour can vary depending on age but simple tests can be done at home so if in doubt then take it with you or you might kick yourself later!
-pictures sourced from google images, all writing is mine :)
I wonder what my vomit is worth???
stick it on ebay and find out! :)
To hell with gold panning! I'm taking a six-pack and some binoculars to the beach!
Great post and interesting history -- i had no idea.
I got the weed save me a space and bring the canoe :)
Get the four-footer and bring it on!
🤘😜
Haha save me a spot because I think I'm going to join you!
🤣👍
Whale-vomit is worth quite a few dollars here on Steemit too.. ;)
yeah us minnows have to take whatever we can get :)
Very good post, great information. I have always fantasized about finding a big piece of Ambergris with all the beach combing I do and retiring :) You did an excellent job of presenting the information. Thanks @owenwat! Great post!
If i wear perfume and rats smell it.....
At least now you will understand whats going on when you notice them following you around lookin frisky :)
Best story ive read in quite sometime...
Ita not everyday you learn about whale vomit millonaires... what a way to get rich lol
Thanks bud i took my time writing this one ive been researching it all week so wanted to do it well. I think everyone should know about this, its very rare but not many people are out looking for it. It would be so funny sat in your million dollar house with a ferrari outside, all paid for with puke :)
Great post. So if you cut into 1 of these would you still find the original squid beak in the middle or does it slowly get digested?
Thankyou yes some of them do have the squid beaks inside! i think that was the biggest clue for researchers as to identifying the sperm whale as the source :)
Great post. The trick is being able to identify it and not think it is just some rock on the ground.
definately agree it would help to have a dog as they are interested in the smell, but just look for stones that look different from the rest :)
I once found a piece of Ambergris on the beach in North Wales. I was really mystified as to what it could be. It was about the size of a small cat and looked just like the first image in this post.
Not knowing what it was, I just left it there.. years later I saw an article in a Nat Geo magazine and a picture and nearly fell off my chair ... If I ever saw a piece again, I think I'd know what it was.. It was probably worth a lot then. this was probably over 20 years ago. In some places, it's actually forbidden to take it !
I didnt know it was forbidden to take it will have to look that up, i think i found some years ago aswell when i was a kid and ended up throwing it away, we didnt have google back then lol :) keep looking bud!
only in certain places.. (where they expect you to turn it over to the authorities ?) I think I found it more than once as a kid. I was always an avid beachcomber ! and usually knew what I was looking for. except this unusual yellow stuff.. maybe one day I'll see some again and next time I'll know !
steemit has been messing me around today wouldnt let me reply to your comment! ?
i had the same problem replying to you !! something funny on this block.. Ah well thanks for the screenshot, let's hope next time we find ambergris, we'll recognise it for what it is.. whalepoo gold !
Gross getting sexually excited over vomit. I wonder how many women would still wear the perfume if they realized it was actually puke or worse POOP!
how about jelly sweets being made from boiled pigs feet lol :) ignorance is bliss
musk.. another important ingredient in perfumes comes from the anal glands of the Musk Deer.. that's right a deer's bum :)
Awesome info. I'll keep my eyes open as I trek along the beaches. It would be so fun to find it. How interesting.
Cheers bud, So many people must have found it and left it there! knowlege is Power! :)
Good point. I bet 9 out of 10 people walk right past whale vomit. I plan on finding this one day with all my beach combing. When I do, I'll send some crypto your way as a reward.
Yeah boy!! thats what im talikin about :)
What an interesting post. So many things to be learned here. I doubt a whale on steemit would drop this secret on any of us. Lol!
Thanks again. 🐓🐓
i think a whale might of farted on one of my posts :)
Pretty intresting @owenwat . Thanks for sharing this. I will make sure to tell the wife that her perfume contains sperm whale vomit, she will be pleased to know this. You may have just saved me some money.
Now I have met my daily quota of reading whale puke and poop stories for the day...
Super interesting i never knew this, ill be on the look out for a crazy lump on the beach now lol. Thanks, be well.
my mums friend found some and was curious, looked it up when he got home then drove 200 miles back to get it, it was still there and he sold it at auction! thanks for stopping by :)
owenwat good post
thankyou much appreciated :)
What a load of while dried out crap, Lol, great article thanks for sharing.
Well alright. I just learned something new. 😁
If I saw that washed up on the beach I would walk by and not even know it is worth its weight in gold.
i think i might of found some years ago, played with it for a while then threw it away! next time i will be ready :)
Forget panning for gold! I'm going to go fishing for whale puke!!!
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Amazing info thanks for that!
your welcome glad you liked it :)
I think I've read or seen this before, but had completely forgotten this. Do you think there are any sperm whales in the great lakes . . . yeah me either. Maybe I can hope on floats into the lakes somehow and makes it near me I guess!
Very cool and educational post owenwat! Quite versatile. I was a fan of collecting as a kid. Never Ambergris though. I live near a river, so I should look. Haha.
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