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#52770 04/09/02 11:15 AM
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Again let me ask what many of you probably think is a stupid question.
I know ambergris is a digestive fluid coughed up by sperm whales and used in the making of many types of perfumes, but how did Ambergris Caye get its name? Is there any tie in? Thanks

#52771 04/09/02 12:07 PM
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my unknowlegable answer is that i believe a couple hundred years ago, spanish & french & british ships sailed around there to collect ambergris for perfumeries. then it was able to be made synthetically, end of story.

any one know the real story?

#52772 04/09/02 12:41 PM
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Well I belive thats just it! The whale product hence "ambergris" collected here behind the reef and up to the island. They decided the island had a significantly higher ammount of ambergris than any other place ever seen before, therefore naming it ambergris caye, the waxy substance is some how secreted outta the sperm whale, floating around and making, well making a mess of the wonderful blue water......lol

#52773 04/09/02 12:43 PM
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Now my question is.....who decided to collect the stuff and put it into a jar and spray it on themselves to smell good? Does it have a smell?

#52774 04/09/02 01:06 PM
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As I undrstand it does.
P.S. Only the human animal would try it in the first place!

#52775 04/09/02 02:32 PM
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FYI Ambergris was not used in perfumes because of its smell, but rather because of its chemical properties. Perfume needs to release molecules into the air from the skin at a rate that is not to slow and not to fast. To fast and the scent would not last. To slow and you would never smell it.

Ambergris has the right properties to make this work...

It is kind of like butter and other oils in cooking which help carry the flavors in a dish to the taste buds. Ambergris helped carry the scents from a dish to the nose [Linked Image]

[This message has been edited by ChrisW (edited 04-09-2002).]

#52776 04/09/02 03:31 PM
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wow. i learn so much stuff from this board.

#52777 04/09/02 03:45 PM
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Although I've heard this tale told many times, I'm still unconvinced that sperm whale vomit was found around the island and that this was the source of the name.

If so, why isn't ambergris commonly found near the island today?

--Lan Sluder


Lan Sluder/Belize First
http://www.belizefirst.com
#52778 04/09/02 04:59 PM
Joined: Dec 2001
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Hey Lan

Maybe too much whale hunting!

Take Care
GP Moloney

#52779 04/09/02 05:42 PM
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if you weren't serious, i'm pretty sure that IS the reason.


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