Although they were only expecting a nice walk on the beach, a United Kingdom couple got much more when they stumbled upon a chunk of whale vomit worth up to $70,000. The couple, Gary and Angela Williams, discovered the vomit after detecting a foul smell on Middleton Sands Beach, close to Morecambe Bay, allowing them to trace the odor to the location of the vomit.
"It was down a section of the beach where no one really walks," Gary said. "It smells too bad, though. It's a very distinctive smell, like a cross between squid and farmyard manure."
The vomit is worth such a hefty reward due to its value in the fragrance industry, which utilizes it for its ability to keep scents like perfume around longer.
The couple is reportedly in the midst of negotiating with several parties for the vomit, which weighs approximately 1.57 kilograms. Whale vomit around twice this size is valued at nearly $170,000, which points to the current chunk being worth around $70,000.
Whale vomit, less crudely referred to as ambergris, is created in the digestive system of sperm whales in order to loosen up anything that gets stuck there so that it can be expelled from the body. In particular, sperm whales typically feed on squid, and their beaks can pose a problem when caught in the whale's digestive system.
Although vomit tends to conjure up images of liquid, when ambergris is expelled from the whale's body it is much different.
Gary claims that it "feels like a rock hard rubber ball. Its texture is like wax, like a candle. When you touch it you get wax sticking to your fingers."
Although ambergris is still legal for trade in the United Kingdom, it is prohibited for sale in many other countries - including the United States - as the result of whale-protection initiatives.
Lucky from the Williams couple, they now have the chance to get the specimen valued and make a nice sum of cash, which Gary says will be put to good use.
"If it is worth a lot of money, it will go a long way towards buying us a static caravan. It would be a dream come true," he said.
