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Take Two

Ambergris: Why rare sperm whale excrement is akin to 'Floating Gold'

By Take Two Staff
Published Feb 5, 2013
Image of Ambergris, a solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull grey or blackish color produced in the digestive system of sperm whales.
Image of Ambergris, a solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull grey or blackish color produced in the digestive system of sperm whales.
(
Creative Commons
)

Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.

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Ambergris: Why rare sperm whale excrement is akin to 'Floating Gold'

Last week, a British man walking his dog on a beach in northern England came upon what looked like a waxy and smelly soccer ball-sized rock. Turns out, it wasn't an ordinary rock, it was something called ambergris, or Sperm whale excrement, and it's worth more than $100,000. 

We'll talk to Christopher Kemp, the author of the book, "Floating Gold: A Natural and Unnatural History of Ambergris."