Did you know Whales puke? Maybe not, It might not come as a big surprise. What might surprise you is what can one do with this lump of vomit … well, glad you asked! Perfume!
Perfume usually contains a mixture of several aromatic oils, water and alcohol.
Aromatic oils are oils that are made out of all kind of materials, mainly from plants, but also from animals.
This is where the vomit of whales part comes into place (a.k.a “black amber”). After appropriate treatment the rare substance departing from the gastrointestinal tract of the sperm whale starts to emit a pleasant aroma which can be used in the making of luxury perfumes.
When the sperm whale ejects the vomit lump and then it floats on the sea surface due to its fatty content.
To isolate the pleasant fragrances in the black amber it is crushed, and than heated in alcohol and then left to cool down.
Most perfumes are produced out of plants (such as almonds, anise and parsley). However, essential oils can also be extracted out of glands of musk deer or Rock-hyraxes, as well as honeycombs and other materials derived from animals. Today, due to over hunting of whales and other animals used for the production of luxury perfumes, many became threatened with extinction, and the use of such materials are now mostly banned. Which is a great thing because with the advancement of our technologies, if there was a free for all on such species they would not survive our OutdoorEmpire hunting bows and spears.
Many fragrances are nowadays artificially synthesized in the laboratory, so we can have reach the scented oils such as black amber or musk without harming animals.
