September 03, 2008
whale shit and other important matters
When Prince Charles eventually becomes king, during 'the most sacred part of the ceremony' he will be anointed on his head, heart, shoulders, hands and elbows with 'ambraegrisiae 3iiij', a fragrant amber-coloured oil. Charles, a keen ecologist, will know this as ambergris, which comes from whales. That might worry him a bit. What may cause him more concern is that this nearly priceless substance (used by French parfumiers like Chanel, Dior and Givenchy), is actually extracted from, to use Philip Hoare's exact words, 'whale shit'. Amazing? This tremendous book - not long enough in my voracious view - tells us many astonishing things about man's most tremendous prey, the whale. John F Kennedy's widow, for example, placed a whale tooth carved with the presidential seal in her assassinated husband's coffin. Right now, as you read this, whale oil lubricates the Hubble Space Telescope, 'while the Voyager probe spins into infinity playing the song of the humpback to greet any friendly aliens - who may wonder at our treatment of the species with which we share our planet'.
more from Literary Review here.
Posted by Morgan Meis at 06:09 PM | Permalink
Comments
Ambergris is not whale shit. With respect to the mode of its exit from the body, it is closer to whale vomit, though in its composition it resembles bile more than anything else we land mammals produce. It is liquid though viscous when it is ejected, and is only hardened later by exposure to the water. Thomas Hobbes seems to confuse it with the "sperm" (i.e., whale oil) produced by sperm whales; G. W. Leibniz complains that "the nature of this 'ambra' too, is unknown," and could be from either the animal or the mineral kingdom. But all of this is perfectly well straightened out by the time Melville writes Moby Dick, so I don't know why Philip Hoare can't describe it as it is.
Posted by: Justin Smith | Sep 4, 2008 1:49:25 PM
I had also always understood it to leave the whale via the front door rather than the back. The wikipedia article only says it is found in a whale or when "expelled" from a whale without indicating the direction. :)
I found this line coincidentally amusing snice the article starts with the crowning of a new King Charles:
"This substance has also been used historically as a flavouring for food. The favourite dish of King Charles II of England is said to have been eggs and ambergris."
Posted by: tyen | Sep 4, 2008 6:50:14 PM
Ah, one of the reference articles for the wikipedia article covers that issue more fully.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=strange-but-true-whale-waste-is-valuable
"But don't refer to it as "whale vomit"; scientists postulate that whales do not expel ambergris through their mouths. No one has ever seen a sperm whale excrete ambergris, although sperm whale expert Hal Whitehead of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, admits that it is assumed the voiding takes place as fecal excretion, because when first cast out, he says, "Well, it smells more like the back end than the front.""
Posted by: tyen | Sep 4, 2008 6:55:30 PM
There is some evidence that the indigestible beaks of squid, the whales' favored food, irritate the digestive system, producing this raw waxy material that is ejected by sperm whales. After being vomited out, the dark substance turns to light gray and hardens as it matures. Sometimes washing ashore onto beaches after floating for years, it is highly valued for its unique fixative properties, especially by the perfume industry. This is amazing!
Posted by: San Antonio Lawyer | Sep 5, 2008 3:29:05 AM
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