Posted on 06/03/2021 2:16:16 PM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
A 35-man fishing crew in Yemen netted themselves a hunk of whale vomit worth $1.5 million.
Ambergris, known as "floating gold," is a rare substance found only in the bellies of sperm whales.
The fishermen sold off the 280-pound hunk of ambergris and bought new houses, cars, and boats.
Ambergris is particularly valuable for its use making perfumes' scents last longer. According to National Geographic, Chanel and Lanvin use ambergris in some of their high-end scents.
The substance was a rare find. The fishing boat just happened to haul up a sperm whale's carcass while fishing in the Gulf of Aden, per The India Times. While they were towing it back to shore, the crew determined there might be ambergris in the whale's stomach, because of the strong smell of marine fecal odor that the substance emits.
"The smell wasn't very nice, but it was worth lots of money," one of the fishermen told the BBC.
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
Not for cars, I imagine. But then to a very poor person a “new” 2002 Volkswagen might a great prize.
Thanks.
Makes no sense to not be able to find it, though.
That is why you hide it, and sneak back and get it and hire a private plane to take you to a place outside the US where you can sell it.
Is he still pumping Ethel down at the station?
Really? I never heard that inane law.....
I don’t know that I would recognize it for what it is if I was to see it.
The smell was not Cankles.
But it was her filthy crusted Pant Suit.
Whale vomit falls under the Endangered Species Act.
Eau d’ Vomi de Baleine ...has a nice, elegant ring to it.
There are very few really good perfumes anymore - and the ones that are still available cost a fortune.
All the perfumers signed a pact to minimize use of many natural substances. Most are now just made of synthesized ‘molecules’.
(I always liked Wind Song, too...)
Actually did some research into this. here is the USA is considered animal waste. That would make it exorbitant from the fed ‘73 endangered act. Not certain of the state of CA has a further overreach, but federally is not illegal.
Like ivory, or other legal but controversial items, I wouldn’t go around in public telling everyone about my legal transaction.
I just did the same calculation. Won’t even buy an F150 with all the trimmings and a good bass boat runs a lot more than that. As for a house...
Outdoors/Rural/wildlife/hunting/hiking/backpacking/National Parks/animals list please FR mail me to be on or off . And ping me is you see articles of interest.
I was in Maui about 25 years ago when a humpback washed up down the beach from our hotel. It was there for about two days stinking up the beach. Huge crowds of people on shore and in boats gathered to watch the tiger sharks coming right up and ripping chucks out of it. They towed it out into the Pacific the next night.
In Yemen it is......The average income is only $2,213 USD
I hope so. Old Spice, English Leather, and Pinaud Clubman are my aftershave go-tos. (A little Skin Bracer is acceptable in my man book, too.) Oy. If cat vomit was only that valuable, ours could move us into a gated mansion out by the country club. They’ll be walking along then *urp* in mid-step.
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