[HN Gopher] A Brief, Fascinating History of Ambergris
___________________________________________________________________
A Brief, Fascinating History of Ambergris
Author : pseudolus
Score : 35 points
Date : 2021-09-04 10:21 UTC (12 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.smithsonianmag.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.smithsonianmag.com)
| colanderman wrote:
| Apropos of nothing but the title, John Singer Sargent's _Fumee d
| 'amber gris_ is a favorite painting of mine. At 41/2 feet tall
| it's the kind of painting that just transports you to another
| place. Really captures the "allure of ambergris" the article
| alludes to. It's housed at the Clark in the Berkshires;
| definitely worth checking out in person.
|
| [1] https://www.clarkart.edu/artpiece/detail/Fumee-d-ambre-
| gris-...
| zafka wrote:
| This line in the story struck me: "visitors to the kinds of
| cocktail bars found hidden behind bookcases" Anyone been to any
| of these upscale clubs? Are there literary references to such
| places, or is it mainly fictional imagination?
| vladTheInhaler wrote:
| There are at least two that I can think of in SF. Bourbon and
| Branch has bookcases inside bookcases, and The Grid was hidden
| behind an arcade machine.
| zafka wrote:
| Thanks! Were these special "Invite only" clubs?
| yawz wrote:
| "Like magic, the allure of ambergris lies in what cannot be
| explained."
|
| I think this sums it up well. It's fascinating to see this
| attraction to mystery materializing like this, and the ecosystem
| that it's created throughout centuries. Great read.
| cheese_van wrote:
| A small sliver of ambergris added to hot tea infuses it with a
| soft, delightful odor. Of course, it is difficult to acquire, but
| there is a very large market among the elite in the Middle East,
| especially the Gulf States for this purpose.
|
| I was lucky enough to be a guest when I was served this marvelous
| smelling tea, and it remains a vivid memory, although 20 years
| old.
|
| Memory being sharply evoked by odors is an odd thing.
| kevin_thibedeau wrote:
| It's still whale shit.
| RobRivera wrote:
| I've thought about this much lately.
| asdfasgasdgasdg wrote:
| And honey is bee vomit. What possible use could this
| observation be? The means of a substance's production is
| entirely secondary to it's utility to humans in terms of how
| folks value it.
| Turing_Machine wrote:
| Sure.... and we have bread and alcoholic beverages because
| yeast excrete carbon dioxide and alcohol.
|
| I suppose that makes mead a combination of bee vomit and
| yeast poop, but it's quite tasty nonetheless.
| farmerstan wrote:
| The first time I read about ambergris was in Encyclopedia Brown.
| I didn't believe it was real, that perfume was made from whale
| vomit, until I looked it up at the library. It's one of those
| things that you remember for the rest of your life.
| Turing_Machine wrote:
| The truly weird thing is that it's not even the only vaguely
| similar ingredient used in perfumes.
|
| Hyraceum is made from petrified hyrax droppings, while civet
| oil, musk, and castoreum come from the anal glands of civets,
| deer, and beavers respectively.
| tupshin wrote:
| I had the exact same experience.
___________________________________________________________________
(page generated 2021-09-04 23:02 UTC)