Young Boy Finds Whale Poop, ‘Floating Gold’ on English Beach
Charlie Naysmith found a lump of ambergris in a patch of seaweed at Hengistbury Head in Bournemouth (Photo: BBC News)
A chance discovery along the southern coast of England inspires our Geo Quiz.
We’re looking for the name of a large English coastal resort town near Hengistbury Head. An 8-year old boy named Charlie Naysmith was walking along a sandy beach there that looks out on the English Channel. And, as he told the BBC, he stumbled across something.
Naysmith: “I found it at Hengistbury Head, Hengistbury.”
BBC anchor: “Can you tell me where it was exactly?”
Naysmith: “It was like in a patch of seaweed.”
Experts are calling what Charlie found “floating gold” worth thousands of dollars.
It turns out that Charlie Naysmith’s “floating gold” was a large piece of ambergris. If you don’t know what ambergris is, here’s a hint: it comes out of one end of a whale. Charlie found it on the beach near Bournemouth, a resort on the south coast of England.
Bournemouth’s the answer to our Geo Quiz.
As for what floating gold is exactly, we turn to Christopher Kemp. He’s author of a new book called Floating Gold: A Natural (and Unnatural) History of Ambergris.
The article you just read is free because dedicated readers and listeners like you chose to support our nonprofit newsroom. Our team works tirelessly to ensure you hear the latest in international, human-centered reporting every weekday. But our work would not be possible without you. We need your help.
Make a gift today to help us reach our $25,000 goal and keep The World going strong. Every gift will get us one step closer.