Soon to appear on eBay... ?

Courtesy of Mis Hooz, the New York Bureau Chief for Fried Rice Thoughts, comes this incisive piece from today's New York Times. "All the news that's fit to print," indeed.

Out on Long Island, it seems that someone could be sitting on quite a little nugget of sea treasure. Interestingly, however, this particular nest egg could be made of whale vomit.

If it does happen to be petrified orca barf, also known under more classy terms as "ambergris," that hunk of whale junk could be worth $18,000. ($10 a gram, baby!)

Wouldn't you know that whale vomit is a key component in "fragrance chemistry"? I suppose that's not a stretch to consider, though. If whale blubber is so popular in making perfume, why not other... substances from these aquatic mammals?

Think about what's in that perfume next time you dab a bit under your ear, ladies. Unless, of course, you already knew that and are perfectly comfortable with such knowledge.

The only possible down side to pawning off this upchunk trinket, however, is that current laws tend to frown upon anyone attempting to sell something that comes from an endangered species. And the sperm whale most certainly qualifies as such.

Oh, well - maybe a four-pound petrified lump of whale puke will make a pretty tchotchke over the fireplace. Here's hoping!