There was a rumor floating around that the barstools on Aristotle Onassis's yacht were covered with whale foreskins. This engendered a lot of the kind of jokes one might expect, such as "If you rub them just right, they, turn into couches." I heard this some time ago and assumed it was an urban legend, but I couldn't find anything on it on Snopes.

But it turns out that apparently there actually is a fair amount of trading in whale foreskins. This is thoroughly explained in a book by someone who makes his living harvesting whale foreskins. I can't recall the title of the book, but oddly enough, it does contain the word, "Dick."

The opening line reads, "Call me Ishmohel."

Don Firth