HaidaGwaiiBeachFinds Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 (edited) Hi Everyone, This light (very light) lump was found on the shores of Haida Gwaii, Canada. Similar feeling to a shell? And a bit waxy. Any idea what it may be? Never encountered something such as this. Searching for a needle now to do the ambergris test. Thanks in Advance! Edited January 30, 2020 by HaidaGwaiiBeachFinds Better pics and details 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahnmut Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 Hi, needle test is a good idea. Squishy doesn´t sound to promising though. The ambergris I know (from reading and a little piece I do own) is like hard wax in consistency, not elastic at all. Although as far as I know the properties of ambergris change after it leaves the whale, it becoming harder, brighter and less smelly, as supposedly at the beginning it smells like what it is and only over the years becomes fragrant. Squid beaks would be a sure sign of ambergris also. Take care, it has happened that people collected phosphorus from old ww bombs, they thought it was amber or ambergris only to have it ignite after drying. Less probable at your place than the north sea I imagine. Best Regards, J Try to learn something about everything and everything about something Thomas Henry Huxley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahnmut Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 Palm oil chunks are also a usual suspect nowadays. Try to learn something about everything and everything about something Thomas Henry Huxley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaidaGwaiiBeachFinds Posted January 30, 2020 Author Share Posted January 30, 2020 15 minutes ago, Mahnmut said: Palm oil chunks are also a usual suspect nowadays. Thanks @Mahnmut! I’ve edited my details upon further inspection. I could not find a needle, but tried with a safety pin with no luck (it’s actually a hard wax or shell and not as soft as previously though). What was squishy actually washed off? Strange. New pics included after washing mystery find. Most likely not ambergris, but still quite mysterious... thanks for your input! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahnmut Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 Ok, now I can see bubbles in there, that makes it more probable that this is some molten stuff , the black parts could be burnt also. Aloha, J Try to learn something about everything and everything about something Thomas Henry Huxley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snolly50 Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 Burned plastic? Burn a small piece and smell. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaidaGwaiiBeachFinds Posted January 31, 2020 Author Share Posted January 31, 2020 34 minutes ago, snolly50 said: Burned plastic? Burn a small piece and smell. Ok! Gave it a try. Not burnt plastic. Smells more like a guy with cologne, who’s gone camping and then that’s bathed in salt.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snolly50 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 10 minutes ago, HaidaGwaiiBeachFinds said: Gave it a try. Not burnt plastic. An excellent empirical effort. Smells good/bad, mysterious. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snolly50 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 Here is some ambergris info. https://www.ambergrisnz.co.nz/how-identify-ambergris 1 Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daves64 Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 Some of it looks like tin foil, like it was wrapped in it before being possibly burned. Accomplishing the impossible means only that the boss will add it to your regular duties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaidaGwaiiBeachFinds Posted January 31, 2020 Author Share Posted January 31, 2020 @daves64 I wish I had better photography skills because it’s actually not shiny. But yes, I’m starting to think this is man made! It’s super strange, light, multi-coloured and does indeed look burnt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norki Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 2 hours ago, HaidaGwaiiBeachFinds said: Ok! Gave it a try. Not burnt plastic. Smells more like a guy with cologne, who’s gone camping and then that’s bathed in salt.. Maybe it is ambergris then, I mean it is used in perfumes. That burnt looking film on the outside is making me think man made though. PS, found any nice agates? My sister collected some nice ones on Haida Gwaii when she was there, and I know that there's supposed to be lots on the north end of the island. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 adipocere mass,as e.g. documented by Betts in PALAIOS(v.29/2014) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2110/palo.2014.028 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahnmut Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 9 hours ago, HaidaGwaiiBeachFinds said: Ok! Gave it a try. Not burnt plastic. Smells more like a guy with cologne, who’s gone camping and then that’s bathed in salt.. Well, that descryption fits ambergris quite well. Still, the look does rather fit something burnt. Maybe a burnt mixture that contained some kosmetic product like perfumed soap among other less soluble parts, that would also explain the squishy part that washed away. It is sad how much burned garbage you can find even at the most remote beaches. Can be a combination with natural things also. I once found an unmistakable fish skull biger than my hand partly covered in molten plastic. (probably leftover from a beach barbeque) Anthropocene fossil. Best Regards, J Try to learn something about everything and everything about something Thomas Henry Huxley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaidaGwaiiBeachFinds Posted January 31, 2020 Author Share Posted January 31, 2020 12 hours ago, Norki said: PS, found any nice agates? Yes! Too many in fact. I have no idea what to do with all of them. As for the fossils- I’m just waiting for a good discovery and then find a university to donate it to. For the name of science! I just enjoy the thrill of finding and questioning (thankful for this forum). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaidaGwaiiBeachFinds Posted January 31, 2020 Author Share Posted January 31, 2020 11 hours ago, Mahnmut said: I once found an unmistakable fish skull biger than my hand partly covered in molten plastic. (probably leftover from a beach barbeque) It is indeed so sad how much garbage has reared its ugly head up here, and everywhere. I have a large collection of Japanese garbage from the earthquake years ago awaiting a trip to the landfill (so sad). Unfortunately, being so new (but so passionate) about my finds, I do not know enough yet to aid in finding out what this mystery piece is. Too bad! If it was something important, I’d gladly gift it to the science community. It would be too lucky to find ambergris indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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