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Could you imagine if people paid a bajillion dollars for your vomit?
你能想象有人愿意花上百万美元买你的呕吐物是怎样一种体验吗？
Yeah, man, maybe if you were a sperm whale.
我可没开玩笑噢，如果你是抹香鲸的话。
Hey, everyone, I'm Laci Green. Welcome to dnews.
大家好，我是Laci Green。欢迎收看本期视频。
Picture this, you're walking along the beach, and your dog draws you to this nice-sized rock along the beach.
想象一下，你正在海滩上散步，你的狗狗把你带到了沙滩上一块形状非常漂亮的石头面前。
It smells horrible and has a strange sort of texture.
但它的味道很迷，质地也很奇怪。
So, you think to yourself, you know what, this is the 21st century, I'm gonna google it.
于是，你就想，你造吗，这都21世纪了，我得谷歌一下。
And when you do, you find out that it's actually whale vomit.
谷歌以后，你发现，那其实是鲸鱼的呕吐物。
But as if that wasn't good enough news,
但此次此刻你还觉得不够，
you then want to learn that whale vomit is actually worth thousands of dollars per pound.
你还想知道，鲸鱼的呕吐物其实是价值连城的宝贝。
Best news ever!
还！有！谁！
So this happened to a dude in Lancashire.
以上其实是发生在兰开夏郡一哥们儿身上的真人真事。
He found a six pound lump of whale vomit walking along the beach and now He's gonna cash in about 150 G at the bay.
他在海滩上发现了一块六磅重的鲸鱼呕吐物，他马上就能拿着它换到15万美元的现金了。
This happened a few years ago in Australia too.
类似的事件几年前在澳大利亚也发生过。
A couple found a lump and cashed in nearly $300,000!
一对夫妇发现了一块鲸鱼呕吐物，兑现了近30万美元的钞票！
And who is putting down the big bucks on this thing key lump of hardened intestinal slurry? Why?
问题是，谁会砸重金买块儿硬化的肠道分泌物呢？买它干嘛？
It's perfume companies.
答案是，香水公司会。
Makes total sense, right? No, no. It doesn't.
一下子就讲得通了对吗？不不不，还是讲不通。
Until you learn that the fragrance industry isn't actually after the whale vomit for the smell.
直到你意识到，香水行业追逐的其实并不是鲸鱼呕吐物的气味。
It's for the ability to stick the perfume scent to human flesh.
而是它将香水味留在人身上的能力。
It's a fixative.
也就是说，它其实是一种定香剂。
It helps preserve the perfume blend by slowing its evaporation off of your skin.
通过减缓香水挥发的速度提高香水的留香时间。
He has a fancy name too.
它还有一个好听的名字。
Ambergris? Ambergris? Ambergris. Yes, I think that's the one.
龙诞香？龙延香？龙涎香。嗯，这回应该没错了。
Ambergris comes from sperm whales which are endangered, which is why ambergris is actually illegal in the U.S.
龙涎香产自濒危物种抹香鲸，这也是为什么龙涎香在美国是一种非法交易物品的原因。
Out here we use other synthetic fixative.
我们只能用其他合成定香剂替代它。
It's mostly French perfume companies who stock the natural whale puke.
使用鲸鱼呕吐物这种天然定香剂的主要是法国的香水企业。
But the French aren't the only one to price this stuff.
但给这种东西贴上价格标签的并不只是法国人。
Ancient Egyptians used ambergris for incense.
古埃及人曾用龙涎香做熏香。
And these days they use it to sent cigarettes.
现在他们还用它来给香烟增香。
In the Middle Ages, it was used as a treatment for headaches.
中世纪的时候，人们还会用它治疗头痛。
And during the Black Death, people believed that carrying around a ball of ambergris protected them from the plague.
黑死病期间，人们甚至还认为，随身携带一团龙涎香能保护他们免受瘟疫的侵袭。
The pungent smell covered the scent of the air, which is what people thought was causing the plagues.
认为引发瘟疫的是当时的空气的味道，而龙涎香刺鼻的气味能够压制住那种味道。
So, we've come a long way since the Black Death.
看来，黑死病过后，我们已经走了很长一段路了。
So ambergris does serve an important function in our sperm whale friends.
事实上，龙涎香对我们的抹香鲸朋友也是非常重要的。
The beaks of giant squids have been found imbedded within lumps of ambergris.
原来，人们在块状的龙涎香中发现了巨型乌贼的喙。
So, scientists have theorized that it comes from the intestinal tract to ease the passage of hard sharp objects that the whale might eat.
科学家们推论称，这一分泌物来自抹香鲸的肠道，方便被它们吃下的坚硬而锋利的物体通过其肠道。
And although people still call it whale vomit, it's probable that ambergris comes out both ends.
尽管人们依然称其为鲸鱼的呕吐物，但它其实可能有两个来源。
With the biggest pieces coming up out through the mouth.
最大的那些是它们从嘴里吐出来的。
Lovely visual, that one.
这个的话不怎么辣眼睛。
When the whale ejects ambergris into the sea, the ambergris material hardens as it bobs along on the ocean.
鲸鱼向海里喷射龙涎香后，它会在漂流的过程中变硬。
Sometimes it'll be floating along at sea for years before it's found.
有时漂流多年后才被人们发现。
And in that time the salty water gives it a sort of waxy texture.
到那时，海水已经赋予了它一种蜡状的质地。
So, if you're walking along the beach, and you're able to identify some,
所以，如果你在海滩上散步，刚好又眼尖看到了这玩意儿，
just Remember, your friends at dnews who told you what was up.
别忘了是你dnews的那个朋友告诉你龙涎香是怎么回事的。
So guys, are you less likely to wear French perfume now that you know what's in it?
那么问题来了，现在，知道法国香水的秘密，你还会用他们的香水吗？
Let me know what you think and we'll be back soon with more dnews.
快在评论里告诉我们吧。下期节目再见啦。
