so, i'm reading moby dick right now... and is spermacetti still valuable?

/ i never realized that the sperm whale was so named because of the likeness of that substance to sperm.

Futurama did it

Man finds whale vomit worth £100,000. Must've tried eating listening the Jonas brothers

Which is why returning a beached whale to the ocean is like throwing a gold nugget back into a river.

/I keed
//mostly

"Who smells like freaking porpoise hork?"

RexTalionis: [images4.wikia.nocookie.net image 842x697]
Precious ambergris!

Done in one.

/whale biologist

RexTalionis: [images4.wikia.nocookie.net image 842x697]
Precious ambergris!

Glad to see Futurama was covered right away in the Boobies.

Gah.  I can't imagine what would motivate someone to pick up a smelly rock and take it home just because it was smelly.  Some fetish perhaps?

What is like to know is how it came to be that the stuff found its way into perfume?

/"hey, you know what might sell? getting whale puke and putting it in perfume then sell it to rich folks... Yeah, they'll buy anything if you say it's fancy"

gadian: Gah.  I can't imagine what would motivate someone to pick up a smelly rock and take it home just because it was smelly.  Some fetish perhaps?

I have a fetish for $158,000, so to the smelly rocks I go!

Better get Encyclopedia Brown on the case.

I love the dog at the end.

"diggin a hole, diggin a hole,  diggin a hole,  diggin a hole"

FTFV: So if you smell something pungent on a beach in the future, make sure you pick it up.


?

And for some reason we can't make this in a lab?

Step1) Catch Whale
Step2) Gag Whale with Giant Toothbrush
Step3) Profit!

Fyi, ambergris is not vomit . It is formed in the intestines of sperm whales, and is either pooped out or kills the whale and is released post mortem.

Abe Vigoda's Ghost: hitlersbrain: And for some reason we can't make this in a lab?

The whale tank takes up too much space.

If they can put one in a Bird of Prey they can damn well put one in a lab.

/transparent aluminum, how does it work?
//dnrta

Raise the sail off the stage, I'm stuck on a sandbar
And the seagulls are wondering what's up

As the waves peel like a sheet that's not tucked in
Washing in all that white foam
What is that stuff anyway?
It's the spit of a whale and the waves they don't care
They were born out at sea
And they live to crash

/seemed somewhat appropriate
//obscure?

Whale vomit, you say... hmmmm...

I think someone missplaced a decimal point there. Unless he found a 300 lb rock of ambergris, that stuff only sells for about 10 grand (US) for a kilogram.  I know I said "only 10 grand/kg" but gold is worth about 50 grand a kg as a point of reference and ambergris is not worth more than gold.

The whiteness of confusion
Is unfolding from my mind
I stare around in wonder
Have I left my life behind?
I catch the scent of ambergris
And turn my head, surprised
My gaze is caught and held and I
Am helpless...mesmerized

Fantastic headline.

I first learned about ambergris from this book ...

Which later led me to start playing Sid Meier's Pirates!

Odd Bird: Abe Vigoda's Ghost: hitlersbrain: And for some reason we can't make this in a lab?

The whale tank takes up too much space.

If they can put one in a Bird of Prey they can damn well put one in a lab.

/transparent aluminum, how does it work?
//dnrta

And now I will faithfully recite the entire movie in my head, thank you.
No sarcasm, I am now blissfully avoiding all work :)

/A keyboard? How quaint.

TwistedFark: I think someone missplaced a decimal point there. Unless he found a 300 lb rock of ambergris, that stuff only sells for about 10 grand (US) for a kilogram.  I know I said "only 10 grand/kg" but gold is worth about 50 grand a kg as a point of reference and ambergris is not worth more than gold.

Based on your pricing...
10,000 dollars for a kilogram
6,000 pounds for a kilogram
100,000 pounds of ambergris
16 2/3 kilograms
36 lbs, not 300.

FWIW, I saw up to $20/gram

/were you the one that misplaced the decimal point?

BTing: TwistedFark: I think someone missplaced a decimal point there. Unless he found a 300 lb rock of ambergris, that stuff only sells for about 10 grand (US) for a kilogram.  I know I said "only 10 grand/kg" but gold is worth about 50 grand a kg as a point of reference and ambergris is not worth more than gold.

Based on your pricing...
10,000 dollars for a kilogram
6,000 pounds for a kilogram
100,000 pounds of ambergris
16 2/3 kilograms
36 lbs, not 300.

FWIW, I saw up to $20/gram

/were you the one that misplaced the decimal point?

No, I would be the guy who didn't give enough of a fark to convert kilograms to pounds or dollars to pounds (of the other variety).

Glad you found your calling.

Keeve: Better get Encyclopedia Brown on the case.

my first thought, as well.

TwistedFark: BTing: TwistedFark: I think someone missplaced a decimal point there...

No, I would be the guy who didn't give enough of a fark to convert kilograms to pounds or dollars to pounds (of the other variety).

Glad you found your calling.

So I don't know if "the guy" was me or not, so I am going to retry my math.

$ = US Dollars  L = British Pounds  lb = Pound as a measure of weight.

The guy found a "L100,000" amount of ambergris.
You state ambergris is worth $10,000/kg.

L100,000 = $158,210
$158,210 / $10,000/kg = 15.8 kg
15.8 kg = 34.8 lbs

What am I missing?

Ignore me.  I am an idiot having a bad day.

BTing: Ignore me.  I am an idiot having a bad day.

Around here I call that "days ending in 'Y'"

No Time To Explain: What is like to know is how it came to be that the stuff found its way into perfume?

/"hey, you know what might sell? getting whale puke and putting it in perfume then sell it to rich folks... Yeah, they'll buy anything if you say it's fancy"

You could also make a delicious confectionery with it.  Start with  choicest juicy chunks of fresh Cornish ram's bladder, empty them, steam them, flavour them with sesame seeds whip into a fondue.  Then the garnish, of course.

Smeggy Smurf: No Time To Explain: What is like to know is how it came to be that the stuff found its way into perfume?

/"hey, you know what might sell? getting whale puke and putting it in perfume then sell it to rich folks... Yeah, they'll buy anything if you say it's fancy"

And i was thinking of that too

/but then again, I'm not rich
//time to crap in a can, let it stew for a year or two then see if i can mix it into cheap wal mart perfume and sell it for thousands

Whale meat.  Again?

Barf like a freshman!