The odd, enduring appeal of a scarce commodity few people use and no one really needs Text by Mark Wilding, Illustrations by Aurélie Beatley, Hakai In a sparsely furnished office building in the ...

Ambergris is often described as one of the world’s strangest natural occurrences. It is produced by sperm whales and has been used for centuries, but for many years its origin remained a mystery.

2006-12-25 04:00:00 PDT Montauk, N.Y.-- In this season of strange presents from relatives, Dorothy Ferreira got a doozy the other day from her 82-year-old sister in Waterloo, Iowa. It was ugly. It ...