Pretend that you're a fisherman of modest means, scraping by on a boat in the Indian Ocean. One day, as you empty the anchovies and barramundi from your nets, a waxy gray rock the size of a watermelon falls to the deck. But it's not a rock — it's ambergris, and the chunk you just pulled from the sea is worth a fortune. That is, if the authorities don't seize it first.
Humans have prized ambergris for untold centuries, according to Smithsonian Magazine, using it as medicine, as a food additive, as incense and, most famously, as a fixative to help expensive perfumes last longer on the skin. And its unknown origin only enhanced its value. A 15th-century encyclopedia of herbal medicines asserted that it was a type of sea foam or fungus, while 12th-century Chinese sources insisted it was dragon spittle. It wasn't until the 19th century and the rise of large-scale whaling when we finally learned that ambergris comes from the intestines of sperm whales.
The confusion was reasonable, according to the Natural History Museum. Fresh ambergris from a whale's carcass was described as black and viscous, with a foul smell. But left to float in the sea outside of a whale's body, ambergris hardens and dries out until it resembles a gray, brown or white rock, with a musky, marine scent.
In 1820, French chemists discovered ambrein, the active compound in ambergris that made it an effective perfume fixative. Today, synthetic ambrein and other lab-created compounds have replaced ingredients like ambergris and other animal products in perfume. And though a global market still exists and a high-quality chunk of ambergris is worth more than gold, you'll probably never have the chance to get a whiff of it for yourself — it's illegal to collect, possess or sell ambergris in the United States. India is similarly strict, unfortunately for our intrepid fisherman. Indian officials recently conducted a sting operation and seized about 17 pounds of it, worth around $1 million, according to Newsweek.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.