Ambergris: Why Perfume Makers Love Constipated Whales
How whale poop becomes perfume. Thanks to Crunchyroll for sponsoring this video! http://www.crunchyroll.com/minuteearth Thanks also to our supporters on https://www.patreon.com/MinuteEarth...
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Hi, this is Emily from MinuteEarth.For centuries, perfume-makers have been obsessed with ambergris, a rare, gross-looking substancethat gives fragrances a long-lasting, animalistic odor.Yet, for a long time, no one knew what ambergris was – hunks of it just appeared on the ocean'ssurface or along seashores, leading people to hypothesize that it might be tree sap...orperhaps a weird kind of undersea mushroom...or maybe tar from submerged volcanoes?But we've finally traced this fancy perfume ingredient straight to whales’ butts.Like all poop origin stories, this one starts at the other end, after sperm whales snarfdown an afternoon snack of squid.Usually, the soft cephalopod slurry slides through the whales’ first stomach and keepsgoing, while the bon...
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Hi, this is Emily from MinuteEarth.For centuries, perfume-makers have been obsessed with ambergris, a rare, gross-looking substancethat gives fragrances a long-lasting, animalistic odor.Yet, for a long time, no one knew what ambergris was – hunks of it just appeared on the ocean'ssurface or along seashores, leading people to hypothesize that it might be tree sap...orperhaps a weird kind of undersea mushroom...or maybe tar from submerged volcanoes?But we've finally traced this fancy perfume ingredient straight to whales’ butts.Like all poop origin stories, this one starts at the other end, after sperm whales snarfdown an afternoon snack of squid.Usually, the soft cephalopod slurry slides through the whales’ first stomach and keepsgoing, while the bon...
