I was browsing that well known news site, (you know the one, it’s run by theBroken Biscuit Company) when I came across this headline.
Moby sick – whale vomit auctioned for £11,000
An undisclosed Frenchman paid £11k pounds for a lump of whale 
vomit! That sounds like a strange and expensive hobby to have, but of course that isn’t the whole story. What was on sale was ambergris, which technically speaking isn’t vomit, as it can be passed out either end of the whale, if you get my meaning, but it’s the next nugget of knowledge that’s of real interest. Ladies, I’m sorry to tell you this, but that expensive perfume you adore is based on sperm whale puke. Yes, that’s right, ambergris is an ingredient in expensive perfume. I have to wonder who it was, while strolling along the beach one day, came across a dollop of whale sick and thought, ‘I know what, I’ll try dabbing that behind my ears.’ Makes the mind boggle doesn’t it?
vomit! That sounds like a strange and expensive hobby to have, but of course that isn’t the whole story. What was on sale was ambergris, which technically speaking isn’t vomit, as it can be passed out either end of the whale, if you get my meaning, but it’s the next nugget of knowledge that’s of real interest. Ladies, I’m sorry to tell you this, but that expensive perfume you adore is based on sperm whale puke. Yes, that’s right, ambergris is an ingredient in expensive perfume. I have to wonder who it was, while strolling along the beach one day, came across a dollop of whale sick and thought, ‘I know what, I’ll try dabbing that behind my ears.’ Makes the mind boggle doesn’t it?
The story got me interested in other odd items to come up at auction, and I came across these.
In 2013, a slice of Queen Elizabeth’s wedding cake, from 1947, sold for £560. A piece of stale cake, and it brings that sort of money. I was going to suggest that any motorway service station would have been able to provide a similar product, but then I realised they might not be that competitive on price.
The spacesuit Justin Bieber wore in a Superbowl ad, fetched $5800 
on eBay in a charity auction. I think there’s an opportunity to top this figure when Justin Bieber takes his spaceflight with Virgin Galactic, especially if the suit is sold before the launch…if you catch my drift.
on eBay in a charity auction. I think there’s an opportunity to top this figure when Justin Bieber takes his spaceflight with Virgin Galactic, especially if the suit is sold before the launch…if you catch my drift.
A commode, once belonging to JD Salinger (of The Catcher in the Rye fame), was listed on eBay for $1M. The vendor had reportedly obtained the toilet from the current owners of Salinger’s house. The article suggested the toilet dated from 1962, and that it would be after Salinger had done his best work. I’m not sure if they were referring to his writing, or his toilet habits.
There were many other examples, including false dentures worn by Churchill, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s breath in a jar, and Elvis Presley’s stained underwear (I could be sitting on a goldmine). The one thing it shows is that one man’s trash is truly another man’s treasure.
Anyway, I mush dash, my cat is about to bring up a fur ball, and there may just be time to get it to Sotheby’s
No comments:
Post a Comment