rockin'robin
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Just because something's gross doesn't mean it isn't valuable. Case in point: Whale barf. A man taking his dog for a walk on the beach came across a pile of (maybe! hopefully!) whale vomit. Now he could stand to make more than $50,000 from the find.
Who would pay tens of thousands of dollars for whale excrement? Why, the perfume industry, of course. The substance, while foul smelling when it first hits land, becomes much more pleasant as it dries in the sun. It can be used to help prolong the scent of perfume.
According to the BBC, Ken Wilman's dog began sniffing the substance (known as ambergris) while walking on Morecambe beach in England. Wilman went to investigate, picked up the stone-like object, gave it a whiff and then dropped it like a bad habit. Wilman told the BBC: "When I picked it up and smelled it, I put it back down again and I thought 'urgh.'"
Wilman left the beach, but something about his stinky discovery stayed in his mind. He did a little research at home and figured out that it was likely ambergris. He then went back to the beach and picked up the seven-pound object. A French dealer has already offered more than $50,000.
While these sorts of finds are rare, they do occur. Last year, an 8-year-old boy found a one-pound piece of ambergris that was expected to bring in up to $63,000. And in 2006, a man in South Australia found a whopping 32.5-pound piece of ambergris. Estimated value: $300,000. If only cat hairballs had the same market value.
Man finds (valuable) whale vomit on English beach | The Sideshow - Yahoo! News
Who would pay tens of thousands of dollars for whale excrement? Why, the perfume industry, of course. The substance, while foul smelling when it first hits land, becomes much more pleasant as it dries in the sun. It can be used to help prolong the scent of perfume.
According to the BBC, Ken Wilman's dog began sniffing the substance (known as ambergris) while walking on Morecambe beach in England. Wilman went to investigate, picked up the stone-like object, gave it a whiff and then dropped it like a bad habit. Wilman told the BBC: "When I picked it up and smelled it, I put it back down again and I thought 'urgh.'"
Wilman left the beach, but something about his stinky discovery stayed in his mind. He did a little research at home and figured out that it was likely ambergris. He then went back to the beach and picked up the seven-pound object. A French dealer has already offered more than $50,000.
While these sorts of finds are rare, they do occur. Last year, an 8-year-old boy found a one-pound piece of ambergris that was expected to bring in up to $63,000. And in 2006, a man in South Australia found a whopping 32.5-pound piece of ambergris. Estimated value: $300,000. If only cat hairballs had the same market value.
Man finds (valuable) whale vomit on English beach | The Sideshow - Yahoo! News
....and boy was I surprised when I read this....was standing in line the other day behind a Lady who had sprayed herself with some god-awful perfume...the aroma was so bad, I had to move and get in back of the line....
...wondering if the manufacturers of this perfume didn't leave the stinky stuff in the sun long enuf?....
