A woman in East Hampton has been sent "ambergris, the storied substance created in the intestines of a sperm whale and spewed into the ocean. Also called “whale’s pearl” or “floating gold,” ambergris is a rare and often valuable ingredient in fine perfumes." However no one is sure if it IS ambergris since as Larry Penny, director of East Hampton’s natural resources department notes, they have no way of making a definite determination, because
“we don’t keep a certified whale-vomit expert on staff.”