Finding This on A Jersey Shore Beach Could Make You Rich

Imagine walking on your favorite New Jersey beach and finding something that would make you rich!

Is it a buried treasure? A magic lamp? A big brick of drugs?

Well, no.

The item that could mean a big payday for you, if you find it on a beach, is - whale vomit!

Yeah, boy!

Patrick Williamson was walking his dog on a beach in Scotland when his dog found a mysterious rock, that turned out to be whale vomit!

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Whale vomit is valuable stuff!

According to StudyFinds, Williamson, a fisherman, recognized what his dog had found right away. The scientific term for whale vomit is ambergris.

The Natural History Museum of London, England says many have called the substance a treasure of the sea and floating gold.

Sperm whales are found in all the oceans, so the stuff could wash up anywhere - including the beaches of New Jersey.

How big was the ambergris found in Scotland?

Williamson's dog found a 5-ounce piece of the stuff - and, really, that's not that big.

But wait!

StudyFinds says a 21-pound piece of it found in the Canary Islands is worth about $480,000!

How do you identify ambergris?

According to StudyFinds, the one way to tell whether the stuff is the real stuff is this: "A common test to identify ambergris is to heat up a needle and lay it on the surface of the rock. Ambergris will begin to melt into a waxy, black or brown liquid very quickly."

What is ambergris used for?

Ambergris is most valuable for perfume (yuck!). It also has uses in regard to food, medicine, and other things.

All of a sudden you have the urge to take the dog for a walk down on the beach, right?

SOURCE: StudyFinds.org