Orris: The world’s rarest perfume ingredient

Re:Orris: The world’s rarest perfume ingredient by sandworm101 on Tuesday October 09, 2018 @10:09AM (#18176078)

>> Just have to stumble upon it.

You can physically remove it from the whales, which is why ambergris trade is illegal in many countries. Even where legal, you have to be able to prove that it was pooped out and found, that you didn't kill a whale to get it.

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Re:Orris: The world’s rarest perfume ingredient by plink on Tuesday October 09, 2018 @12:17PM (#18177213)

I would hazard that Japanese "scientists" must have vaults crammed with this stuff.

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Re:Orris: The world’s rarest perfume ingredient by cobbzilla on Tuesday October 09, 2018 @10:44AM (#18176355)

>> pooped out

technically isn’t the ambergris “vomited up”?

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Re:Orris: The world’s rarest perfume ingredient by sandworm101 on Tuesday October 09, 2018 @02:08PM (#18178351)

It is used in perfume, reason enough for marketers to avoid any "whale poop" descriptions.

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Re:Orris: The world’s rarest perfume ingredient by epapsiou on Tuesday October 09, 2018 @01:41PM (#18178091)

Nope. It is pooped out.

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Re:Orris: The world’s rarest perfume ingredient by cobbzilla on Tuesday October 09, 2018 @01:54PM (#18178223)

Thanks. Wikipedia [1] says you’re right, and also offers me a small condolence that my misconception is fairly common: “Ambergris is usually passed in the fecal matter. It is speculated that an ambergris mass too large to be passed through the intestines is expelled via the mouth, leading to the reputation of ambergris as primarily coming from whale vomit.”

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambergris#Formation

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