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Podcasts Take Two
Ambergris: Why rare sperm whale excrement is akin to 'Floating Gold'
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Feb 5, 2013
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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.
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.
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Creative Commons
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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.

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."