Ambergris
Channel: all the knowledge of the universe PRINCIPIA
Date: 2021-12-04

Ambergris, by Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=1697 / CC BY SA 3.0

#Perfume_ingredients
#Whale_products
#Animal_glandular_products
#Natural_products
#Traditional_medicine
Ambergris Ambergris from the North Sea Ambergris （/ˈæmbərɡriːs/ or /ˈæmbərɡrɪs/, Latin: ambra grisea, Old French: ambre gris）, ambergrease,
or grey amber, is a solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull grey or blackish colour produced in the digestive system of sperm whales.
Freshly produced ambergris has a marine, fecal odor.
It acquires a sweet, earthy scent as it ages, commonly likened to the fragrance of rubbing alcohol without the vaporous chemical astringency.
Ambergris has been highly valued by perfume makers as a fixative that allows the scent to endure much longer, although it has been mostly replaced by synthetic ambroxide.
Dogs are attracted to the smell of ambergris and are sometimes used by ambergris searchers.
The word ambergris comes from the Old French "ambre gris" or "grey amber".
The word "amber" comes from the same source, but it has been applied almost exclusively to fossilized tree resins from the Baltic region since the late 13th century in Europe.
Furthermore, the word "amber" is derived from the Middle Persian （Pahlavi） word ambar （variants: ’mbl, 'nbl）.
Ambergris is formed from a secretion of the bile duct in the intestines of the sperm whale, and can be found floating on the sea or washed up on coastlines.
It is sometimes found in the abdomens of dead sperm whales.
Because the beaks of giant squids have been discovered within lumps of ambergris, scientists have theorized that the substance is produced by the whale's gastrointestinal tract to ease the passage of hard, sharp objects that it may have eaten.
Ambergris is passed like fecal matter.
It is speculated that an ambergris mass too large to be passed through the intestines is expelled via the mouth, but this remains under debate.
Ambergris takes years to form.
Christopher Kemp, the author of Floating Gol...