Mystery Blob.Think your relatives give you weird gifts? Last December, 67-year-old Dorothy Ferreira received a 1.8 kilogram kilogram, abbr. kg, fundamental unit of mass in the metric system, defined as the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram, a platinum-iridium cylinder kept at Sèvres, France, near Paris. (4 pound) glob of waxy waxy (wak´se) 1. composed of or covered by wax. 2. resembling wax, especially denoting some combination of pliability, paleness, and smoothness and luster. substance from her sister. Ferreira's 82-year-old sister had found the mysterious gunk 50 years ago on a beach. Only recently did she decide to find out what it is. So she sent it to Ferreira, who lives by the ocean in Long Island, New York, to see if local beachcombers could help identify it. Many people suspect the waxy chunk may be ambergris ambergris (ăm`bərgrēs), waxlike substance originating as a morbid concretion in the intestine of the sperm whale. Lighter than water, it is found floating on tropical seas or cast up on the shore in yellow, gray, black, or variegated , but some people are not so sure. Ambergris is produced in the gut of sperm whales to aid digestion. When the Physeter macrocephalus Physeter macrocephalus sperm whale. See also whale. eats its favorite meal--squid--the squid's hard beak could get caught in the lining of the whale's stomach or intestines. To prevent the beak from piercing the gut, the whale's body secretes a waxy fluid to encase en·case tr.v. en·cased, en·cas·ing, en·cas·es To enclose in or as if in a case. en·case  ment n. the
offending particle. Then the whale expels the waxy lump. "It can be
vomited out or it can come out of the [back] with the feces," says
Stuart Frank, senior curator of the New Bedford Whaling Museum The New Bedford Whaling Museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts is the largest museum in the United States devoted to preserving the history of the whaling industry.The museum contains the most extensive collection of art, artifacts, and manuscripts related to whaling during in Massachusetts. Ambergris, in fact, "often looks like feces," says Frank. It comes in various shapes and colors "but usually, it's a blob that's dark in color." Ambergris is also prized as an ingredient in perfumes. Because it can only be found floating in oceans or washed ashore, ambergris is extremely hard to find--making it very valuable. Some peopie estimate that Ferreira's monster haul is possibly worth $18,000. BUt experts have yet to confirm that Ferreira's blob is indeed ambergris. Even if it is, she may not be able to cash in. Sperm whales are an endangered species endangered species, any plant or animal species whose ability to survive and reproduce has been jeopardized by human activities. In 1999 the U.S. government, in accordance with the U.S. . For centuries, people hunted the whales for meat and blubber, a fatty substance eaten for food and burned as fuel. Extensive whaling caused the species' population to plummet. To protect sperm whales, many countries--including the U.S.--banned the hunting of the species or the commercial trade of its products. So you may not find Ferreira's waxy hunk on eBay anytime |
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