Ambergris

Ambergris (Ambra grisea, Ambre gris, or grey amber), a solid, fatty, flammable substance of a dull grey or blackish colour, the shades being variegated like marble, possessing a peculiar sweet, earthy odour not unlike isopropyl alcohol. Now largely replaced by synthetics, it is occasionally still used as a fixative in perfumery.

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Ambergris occurs as a biliary concretion in the intestines of the Sperm Whale, and can be found floating upon the sea, on the sea-coast, or in the sand near the sea-coast. Because lumps of ambergris with embedded beaks of giant squid have been found, scientists have theorized that the whale's intestine produces the substance as a means of facilitating the passage of hard, sharp objects that the whale might have inadvertently eaten. Ambergris can be found in the Atlantic Ocean; on the coasts of Brazil and Madagascar; also on the coast of Africa, of the East Indies, China, Japan and the Molucca islands. However, most commercially collected ambergris came from the Bahama Islands, Providence, etc. It is also sometimes found in the abdomen of whales.

Amber: : For America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response, see AMBER Alert....

Marble: This page is about the metamorphic rock. For the game with little glass spheres - see marbles....

Fixative: Fixative is a term meaning "a stabilizing or preservative agent". There are several different compounds called fixatives:...