A man was shocked when he found a super rare treasure stone worth $600,000 inside a pig. The stone is called an ambergris, which is a valuable substance formed in a whale’s stomach, but sometimes it can end up inside animals that eat fish. This guy just happened to come across it while cleaning out the pig! Ambergris is used in making expensive perfumes, which is why it’s worth so much money. Imagine stumbling across something that valuable in such an unexpected place! Credit: omriishot / Reddit Animation is created by Bright Side. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/ Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightside Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
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00:00So, if you still haven't made your fortune, don't be too sad.
00:04There are huge amounts of money out there longing to be discovered.
00:08Look at this humble Chinese villager.
00:10At 51 years old, he accidentally made 4 million yuan, which is over $600,000, without doing
00:17anything special.
00:19The thing is, he and his son just found it in a pig while doing their basic chores they
00:23would do every single day.
00:25The stone they found inside the pig is called bezuar, and I bet you've never heard of it
00:30before.
00:31It's not common in the West, but it's a big deal in traditional Chinese medicine.
00:36If you look at this stone, you may think it's ew.
00:39This 4-inch-long, 2.7-inch-wide treasure is hairy and looks a bit gross at first glance.
00:45And it doesn't get better.
00:47After discovering the stone, the father and son took it to Shanghai for an appraisal,
00:52and it cost them around $6,000.
00:54But still, the initial expenses don't seem so big, considering they're a mere 1% of
01:00what that stone is worth.
01:03Not everything in an animal's belly is going to make you rich.
01:06Only the gallbladder stuff is real gold.
01:09I know that women can buy themselves flowers and write their names in the sand, but let's
01:14face it, women just love it when we offer them fancy bouquets.
01:17Still, today, it's much easier to do than it was in the 17th century.
01:22Back then, an average Joe would have to slave his way to afford just one flower.
01:28Somewhere around the 1630s, there was a tulip mania, where tulip bulbs cost more than gold.
01:34Okay, the price wasn't real.
01:36It was a speculative bubble way before all the other economic drama we see today.
01:41We just haven't learned our lesson yet.
01:44Back at that time, a single tulip bulb was sold for more than what a skilled artisan
01:49made in an entire year.
01:51And it wasn't just any tulip bulb – we're talking about bulbs with fancy colors and
01:55patterns that were rare and sought after.
01:58The tulip market was like the stock market of the time, with traders making deals in
02:02taverns and signing contracts with each other.
02:05It was all about supply and demand.
02:08And just like with any bubble, prices eventually crashed in February 1637, leaving everyone
02:15with empty pockets, scratching their heads, and feeling ill.
02:20Meanwhile, speaking of feeling under the weather, back in 15th-century Europe, people turned
02:26to Egyptian mummies for relief from headaches, stomach issues, and even more serious conditions
02:32modern medicine still can't beat today.
02:35Embalmed bodies were thought to have some magical healing powers.
02:39But why did folks eat mummies in the first place?
02:42Well, it all started with a mix-up in translations.
02:45There was a substance called mummia that was considered super-valuable for its healing
02:49properties.
02:50But when Western Europeans got wind of it through letters from other nations, they mistakenly
02:55thought it came from Egyptian mummies.
02:58This led to a whole fashion of medical mummy-eating.
03:01People believed that consuming parts of mummies could cure all sorts of ailments.
03:06So they started raiding Egyptian tombs and selling mummies like hotcakes.
03:11It was so high that some shady characters even started making fake mummies out of…
03:16Trust me, you don't want to know it, I'll leave it to your imagination.
03:19But you can write your ideas in the comments!
03:22Fast forward to the Victorian era, and the enthusiasm with mummies was at an all-time
03:27high.
03:28Egyptomania was in full swing, with mummy-unwrapping parties becoming a popular pastime.
03:34It wasn't until the late 19th century that the use of mummia finally fizzled out.
03:41One day, a dead sperm whale washed up on a beach in La Palma, Spain, and a professor
03:46was sent on a mission to crack the case of the animal's demise.
03:49Amidst crashing waves and the massive carcass, he stumbled upon a surprising revelation – a
03:55hefty 21-pound stone stuck at its intestines.
03:59But this was no ordinary rock.
04:02It was found at 500,000 euros, which is over $545,000.
04:07It turned out to be ambergris, also known as floating gold.
04:12Legend has it that this funky substance can be found floating in the sea or rarely washed
04:17up on beaches.
04:18It was discovered in the 1800s.
04:20It's actually formed from the indigestible bits sperm whales gobble up while feasting
04:26on squid, like their beaks.
04:28Over time, perhaps years, these bits clump together in their intestines, almost like
04:33a kidney stone, to create this valuable lump of ambergris.
04:38You may ask yourself why a sperm whale's excretion costs way, way more than your house,
04:43but the answer is simple – it just smells good.
04:46Okay, it's not good.
04:47It smells divine.
04:49The aroma ranges from sweet to musky tones, and perfume makers go bananas for this stuff
04:54as it helps fragrances last longer.
04:57The more a substance called ambarin it contains, the pricier it gets.
05:01And the color matters too – black means less ambarin, while white packs a punch.
05:07Cheaper options opt for synthetic alternatives, but top-notch perfumes go for the real deal.
05:13While using ambergris in perfumes is a no-go in the US, the French still adore this magical
05:18ingredient.
05:19By the way, over $500,000 is not a limit here.
05:24Some lucky fishers once scored a chunk of ambergris worth $1.5 million in the Gulf of
05:29Aden.
05:30Those sperm whales sure have some fancy intestines, huh?
05:36Next time you go grocery shopping, do not complain about prices, okay?
05:40At least you can easily afford any spice out there.
05:44Your great-great-many-times-great-grandfather somewhere in the Middle Ages wouldn't believe
05:49you that cinnamon and black pepper can be that affordable.
05:53Spices were worth their weight in gold and gems, driving the economy like nobody's
05:57business.
05:58Back in the day, food went bad faster than milk in the sun, so spices were a hot commodity
06:03to cover up that not-so-fresh flavor.
06:07European nations wanted to control the spice trade, which led to crazy expeditions to India
06:11and other Asian lands.
06:13The Portuguese, Dutch, French, Spanish, and English were all fighting for spice domination,
06:19setting up shop and making a mint along the way.
06:22Now on to the exact prices.
06:25Back in 1393, saffron was as pricey as a horse, ginger as much as a sheep, and mace as costly
06:32as a cow.
06:33And a pound of nutmeg was worth 7 fat oxen in medieval Germany.
06:38That black pepper that we take for granted today wasn't just for seasoning.
06:42Peppercorns were actually used as currency in Europe.
06:46Towns kept their books in pepper, brides got pepper as part of their dowry, and some landlords
06:50even accepted peppercorn rent.
06:53Um, may I cover my utility bills this month with this fancy packet of cinnamon, sir?
06:58No?
06:59What?
07:00You think I should go out and get an actual job?
07:02Okay.
07:03Hey, that's a nice t-shirt, but does it come in purple?
07:08What?
07:09It'll cost 10 times more in this color?
07:12This one may sound insane to modern people, spoiled by the variety we've got today.
07:17But if the shopping malls we know today existed many centuries ago, that would be a common
07:22thing.
07:23Making Tyrian purple dye was such a chore that it cost a pretty penny.
07:27It's rumored that purple dye was as valuable as silver.
07:31This led to purple fabrics becoming symbols of status, with fancy laws dictating who could
07:36wear them.
07:37Big-shot Roman leaders flaunted their importance by wearing white togas trimmed in Tyrian purple,
07:43while victorious generals rocked the grandest toga of them all, solid purple with shiny
07:49gold embellishments.
07:51Fast forward to the 4th century, and it was basically illegal for anyone in Rome to sport
07:56Tyrian purple except for the emperor.
07:58That's how exclusive it was.
08:00In fact, saying someone donned the purple came to mean they became emperor.
08:05The Byzantine Empire took tight control over Tyrian purple production, using it solely
08:10for their fancy silk fabrics.
08:12In fact, if a royal kid was born, they were literally born in the purple.
08:17But I digress.
08:19Tyrian purple may have been worn by the nobility, but the origins of this fancy dye are far
08:24from being noble.
08:26It came from the slimy stuff of three different sea snails.
08:30Each snail made a unique hue.
08:32One of them gave us a bluish purple, another one rocked a reddish purple, and there was
08:37even a snail that could help make a vibrant red dye.
08:41That's it for today!
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