In Search of Ambergris: For well over a thousand years, ambergris, a key component in classic perfumery, has been called such things as the “universal cordial,” “the dearest and most valuable commodity in France,” and “the odor of sanctity.” It is highly prized, and highly priced—the current going rate for ambergris is around $10,000 per pound.
*Most obscure allusion yet to appear on the blog.
6 comments:
I don't remember the details, but I recall reading that Uncle Scrooge story.
I'm not surprised. I'm sure Art Scott does, too, and probably he knows the title.
I can't find which story that is, so I'm hoping Art chimes in.
This story is "A Cold Bargain". And how do I know ? I Googled it and found that Art Scott had answered this on a blog from 1/25/06. The blog was from some guy named Wider or Cider or something like that.
That's an obscure reference to a previous reference in this blog, Jan 25, 2006. I answered it then as follows:
"You're thinking of "A Cold Bargain" in Uncle Scrooge 17, wherein Scrooge buys a ball of the world's rarest element, bombastium, at auction for "one trillion dollars and six kitchen sinks". At one point in the story, en route to the South Pole, the ball of bombastium (about the size of a grapefruit)falls overboard and into the blowhole of a passing sperm whale."
Why do I have to do all the work for you?
However, I do believe there was a Donald Duck story where he finds a chunk of ambergris, but it's not a Barks story and I lack the resources to track it down & find out whether Scrooge was in the story. Googling "ambergris Donald Duck" turns up one guy who also remembers it, along with a story about Kim Jong-Uh feeding his uncle to starving dogs. Such are the wonders of the internet...
I am humbled by the scholarship of the readers of this blog.
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