March 04, 2019, 12:05 PM
Pipe Smoker$500K for a 23 lb lump of whale vomit?
“A barman believes a yellow lump he found on the beach in Thailand is rare whale vomit, worth a staggering $500,000.
Boonyos Tala-upara, 44, picked up the 22lbs blob while walking along a beach on the island of Koh Samui in southern Thailand in June last year.
He kept it in his back garden and forgot about it.
But last month a visiting friend told the bar owner that it could be ambergis or whale vomit, a substance highly sought after by perfume makers.
…
In April 2016, a 1.57 kilo ambergris ball found in Lancashire sold for £50,000 while in November of the same year, three Omani fishermen found 80 kilos of ambergris and sold it for $3 million.”
https://mol.im/a/6768629March 04, 2019, 12:12 PM
egregoreI'll take a WAG that with curtailed commercial whale hunting, these puke balls have become even more rare.
March 04, 2019, 12:12 PM
rusbroDang. I'ma get me some SCUBA gear and a Super Soaker full of syrup of ipecac.
March 04, 2019, 12:17 PM
urbanwarrior238Honest truth, wife got me a cologne sample of the Ambergis and it smelled pretty good. It's one I would buy again if I had too.
March 04, 2019, 12:25 PM
WoodmanWorld-wide fake ambergris "finds" are ratcheting back up.

As far as treasure-seeking, I'd rather scour Antartica for errant chunks of Mars and the moon, sitting for millennium, awaiting my discovery.
March 04, 2019, 02:15 PM
FredwardIt's in high demand for the manufacture of high end perfumes.
March 04, 2019, 04:33 PM
sigmonkeyWonder how much I could get for a Beluga loogie?
March 04, 2019, 06:56 PM
egregoreAmbergris isn't actually vomit, it's more like a whale
turd.

March 04, 2019, 09:11 PM
Bob at the BeachI quote “Eww poke it with a stick”
March 04, 2019, 09:14 PM
Pipe SmokerGigi: The sales of our perfumes are falling – we have to find something to make them more interesting.
Raymond: Well, we’ve tried many floral and spice scents, but none have helped. I can’t think of anything else.
Gigi: I have an idea – let’s try whale vomit.
Raymond: Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?!