Perhaps you didn’t realize that if you want to smell better, you can spray broken-elephant spray on your arms.
And thus unwittingly promote the hunting of an endangered species, as the valuable substance is found in particularly large quantities – up to 400 kg lumps – in the stomachs of the animals. This is because when sperm whales swallow indigestible items such as beaks, sharp mussel shells or crab claws, their bodies form ambergris – a sticky mass that surrounds them to protect the organs. The waxy substance is then either stored in the stomach, excreted or vomited – and the initial fecal odor gradually develops into a sweet, earthy scent with an aphrodisiac note. This is used around the world as a base note for perfumes and amber is sometimes traded as expensively as gold.
However, the problem is not only that sperm whales are threatened with extinction, but that the production of ambergris may also be the result of a metabolic disorder: Only one in 100 sperm whales produces the substance. So it’s no wonder that their fragrance has also been produced artificially for some time. The extraction of an essence of balsam fir that comes very close to the smell is highly inefficient, however, as only 30 percent of the material is subsequently usable. Now researchers at the University of British Columbia have found a sustainable alternative: They have cracked the genetic code of the fragrant pine substance, extracted it, transplanted it into yeast cells and allowed it to grow there. Also good to know for night owls: in future, the beguiling scent of the other person will probably be a sustainably produced organic product and no longer the vomit of a sick whale.
http://www.ecomagination.com/the-sweet-smell-of-synthetic-whale-ambergris
Source:
Abstarkt Issue No.10 from W.I.R.E