Getting lucky on the beach
A lump of vomit that may be worth over $250,000 was found inside a beached sperm whale after it appeared on Nogales Beach in La Palma, Canary Islands, last month. The whale died after the nearly 20-pound chunk of a substance, known as ambergris, caused chronic obstructive inflammation in the animal’s colon, according to experts at the University. They told Jam Press that the obstruction was 33 feet long and nearly 2 feet in diameter. Though the exact origin of ambergris is still a mystery to scientists, it is commonly believed that the pungent material is formed when the whales eat irritants, such as a squid beak, and produce a slippery substance to protect their digestive organs from the offending particles. It is estimated that only 1% of sperm whales are actually capable of secreting ambergris.
Ambergris, a coveted substance sought by perfume companies to make the scent of their products last longer, is secreted from the animal’s bile duct in the intestines. Ambergris gives perfumes and scents staying power and very small doses make perfume a sexually stimulating pheromone. The UK’s Natural History Museum claimed that the waxy, yet solid substance was used in early Arab culture as a medicine to treat many diseases, including those of the brain, heart and senses, and as an aphrodisiac. While the ownership of the newly discovered mass has yet to be determined, a spokesman for the university told Jam Press that it will remain in the custody of the Spanish college that identified it until the government decides what to do with it. “If it is worth something, the island government will sell it and distribute the money among the people who need it the most,” said Antonio Fernández, referring to citizens displaced in 2021 by a volcanic eruption.
This is not the first time whale vomit has made people rich. In June 2021, a Yemen fisherman caught a lucky break when he and his crew accidentally caught a 280-pound of ambergris worth $1.5 million. Earlier that year, a 15-pound piece of ambergris worth $230,000 washed up on the shore of Thailand and was nabbed by another lucky fisherman, who said he was “not in a hurry to sell this. An agent will find an international buyer for it.”
Striking it rich
Money can’t buy you happiness,
But poverty can’t buy you anything.
Bidenflation was getting so bad my wife came home and said “I’ve been selling my body for money today and I’ve made $300 and 50 cents.”
I asked, “who the hell gave you 50 cents?”
She said, “All of them.”
I asked God for money.
I later found out that God doesn’t work that way.
So I robbed a bank, then asked for forgiveness.
A thief stuck a pistol in a man’s ribs and said, “Give me your money.” The gentleman, shocked by the sudden attack, said: “You cannot do this, I’m a United States congressman!”
The thief said, “In that case, give me my money!”
Birthdays on July 4th
1997 – Daniela Nieves, 1989 – Angelique Boyer, 1978 – Becki Newton, 1927 – Gina Lolabrigida
1900 – Louis Armstrong 1939 – Bill Withers, 1826 – Stephen Foster, 1883 – Rube Goldberg