Ambergris

Charlie Naysmith may become rich from his his whale vomit discovery.

The ladies in our church attended a women's conference last weekend. It was a great time and they are planning to attend again next year. I wanted to know more about the conference other than it was wonderful, refreshing, and encouraging. I looked over the notes taken by my wife and saw the words, "whale vomit".

I asked her how whale vomit fit in the context of a conference on "Unspeakable Joy." She replied that the story of Jonah was shared and the conference speaker looked up whale vomit and discovered it was used by Chanel for perfume.

Now it was my turn to Google and this is what I discovered from National Geographic News.com (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/08/120830-ambergris-charlie-naysmith-whale-vomit-science/)

"Sperm whales eject an intestinal slurry called ambergris into the ocean, where the substance hardens as it bobs along. The value of ambergris lies in its role in the fragrance industry. High-end perfumes from houses such as Chanel and Lanvin take advantage of the ability of ambergris to fix scent to human skin.
The smell of ambergris itself varies from piece to piece, ranging from earthy to musky to sweet. If a perfume house's "nose"—the person responsible for choosing scents—likes the aroma, the ambergris can be worth thousands an ounce."

Hmmmm.

This past August, an eight year old boy found a chuck of whale vomit or ambergris on the beach of  Dorset in the United Kingdom that weighs more than a pound and may be worth up to $63,000.

Ecclesiastes 3:11
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Who would have thought.

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