# Animal Droppings and Whale Vomit

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-droppings-and-whale-vomit/531919>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [March 9, 2010, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-droppings-and-whale-vomit/531919 "2010-03-09T23:02:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![CookieMomster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/fbc32d/32.png) [@CookieMomster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookieMomster)\
**Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-droppings-and-whale-vomit/531919/1 "2010-03-09T23:02:08Z")

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Animal feces is not the only excrement to deserve it’s own name. Whale Vomit, more commonly known as ambergris, is a highly sought after excrement. As a matter of fact, it is more valuable than gold and the dream of many a beachcombing treasure hunter.  
Really wanna be grossed out? It is used in cigarettes and perfume amongst other things. Go ahead, spray that cologne to cover up the smell of cigarettes… hehehe. You’re bathing in it, inside and out.

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**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\
**Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-droppings-and-whale-vomit/531919/2 "2010-03-09T23:19:30Z")

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Thanks for _dropping_ by, **CookieMomster**.

You should provide a link to Cecil’s column, as it helps others to follow along.

> **[Does every type of animal dropping have its own name?](https://www.straightdope.com/21341429/does-every-type-of-animal-dropping-have-its-own-name)**

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**Author:** ![michaelpaul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@michaelpaul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/michaelpaul)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-droppings-and-whale-vomit/531919/3 "2010-03-10T03:53:13Z")

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I don’t know, all these seem to be almost sensible!!  
The Australian humourist, Barry Humphries refers to the stuff that bad dog owners leave on the sidewalk when they walk their dogs as “barker’s eggs”.  
I’ve always liked the eloquence of that!

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**Author:** ![JR\_Brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JR\_Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JR_Brown)\
**Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-droppings-and-whale-vomit/531919/4 "2010-03-10T19:41:35Z")

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Ambergris is not exactly whale vomit. It appears to be a secretion from the digestive tract (possibly the stomach) produced by sick whales; it’s not clear if it is vomited up or if it is realeased from dead whales after the carcass rots. In any case, modern perfumery uses synthetic ambergris, since high-quality natural ambergris is rare and expensive, while low-quality natural ambergris is only slightly less expensive and not as pleasant.

If you want disgusting, try musk or civet, which are secretions from the perianal glands of musk deer and civet “cats”, respectively. Musk smells, well, musky, while civet smells “fecal”. Both are widely used in perfumery (although currently mostly in synthetic form).