Things I've Learned From Recent Reading (TILFRR) #1

 It's pronounced "tilfer". I've decided to periodically write about some things that I learn while reading my books. Sometimes the information will come from different books; sometimes from just one. Today it is just one - At Home,  by Bill Bryson.

Where does the word board in "room & board" come from? Originally, board comes from when people, particularly in rural homes, often did not have a table from which they would sit at to eat. Instead, it would be a piece of wood, or board, that they would use straddling their knees and balance their meal on it. When they were finished with the meal, the board would be hung on a nearby war. After a while, the word board became to mean the meal as well. When some traveler wanted a place to stay and came upon an inn or house with rooms, an added meal would be an extra; hence room & board". And the persons who rented the room were called boarders.

Before electricity one of the best things to use for lighting was whale oil. And the best whale oil was from the sperm whale, who stored large amounts of it in its skull. It is called spermaceti and the whale can store as much as three tons of it in their cranium. When the spermaceti hits the air, it turns a creamy white. Hence the name. No one is quite sure what use it is to the whale. It contains large amounts of nitrogen. Some think it may help with buoyancy. Some think it may help protect the cranium because of the tendency the whales have headbutting ships.

By the way, sperm whales are also known to produce ambergris, meaning "gray amber" in French, but often is black as well. It is often found floating or on beaches after the whale gets rid of it. It is made from the beaks of squids that the whale eats and is indigestible. It is used in the making of perfumes but can be eaten as a food as well. It's considered a delicacy and been said the taste reminds one of vanilla, though I wouldn't know.