Pictured here is a young boy with a big rock he found in the beach in England. But what an odd rock it is... In fact, it isn't even a rock at all. After having consulted around ti turns out this kid found a 6 or 7 pound chunk of Ambergris, according to ABC News.
Unless you a an connoisseur of very high end perfume, likely you have never used this stuff. After all, what else would a waxy intestinal secretion from the gut of a sperm whale in response to indigestion from eating giant squid (the squid's "beak" with chomps food seem to be the gut irritant). Yes, that's right, ambergris is basically whale poo. Poo that floats in the ocean for years and then comes to shore.
Why is it so fragrant? Who is to say, but it sure is expensive, almost as expensive as gold by weight. Happen to have some lying around? You might want to sell it here. This nice essay from Natural history magazine discusses the "floating gold" as it has been called. Among other things such as its physical characteristics and supposed uses and, it discusses the fact that for a long time no one actually knew of the materials origin, though certainly they speculated as in this passage froma British book in 1691:
"It is a marine Sulphur, found at the Sea-shore, chiefly in the Indies, which breaks from Fountains and Caverns of the Sea. It is gray, sweet and smooth; pricked with a needle it sweats out fatness, softens in the heat, and when moist appears black.... It is hot and dry, an excellent Corroborative; it is discutient, resolutive, alexipharmic, and analeptic; it strengthens the heart and brain, revives and recreates the spirits natural, vital, and animal. Its sweet Sulphur is an excellent Perfume; it is a good preservative against the Plague, and preserves the Spirits from infection."
You might have come across this fascinating material if you are a Matthew Barney fan - it is just the kind of material he'd be interested in, right? In Drawing Restraint 9 some whalers find a HUGE piece of it:
Björk, who 'stars' in the film, also does the soundtrack, which includes"Ambergris March." Let's take a listen:
This, my friends, is natural history.
AY
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