Bet you didn't know some these cool things about salt

Without salt and water we could not act or think. Salt also triggers the production of saliva, the gastric juices and is essential for good food digestion.

Our body requires a daily intake of pure, natural salt as well as water to build our cells and maintain a healthy body. Unprocessed salt promotes healthy cell growth and maintains the electrolyte balance inside and outside of the cells.

We bet you didn't know some of these things about salt or some of its uses

Some more interesting facts about salt:

• Greeks exchanged slaves for salt, therefore the expression “he is not worth his salt”
• Napoleon’s troops died during his retreat from Russia, because their wounds did not heal as a result of a lack of salt.
• In medieval European times, Venice had a great economy through its salt monopoly.
• Salt played a key role in the history of West Africa, particularly during the great trading empire of Mali (13th – 16th centuries)
• In the 15th century, when European fishing fleets discovered the Great Banks of Newfoundland, they used the dry or shore salting method of drying their catch racks onshore.
• In ancient times salt was often called: “life-salt”, or “salt of the king”.
• British monarchs have long supported salt taxes and many were imprisoned for smuggling salt, even French kings developed a salt monopoly selling exclusive rights to a few who made salt very difficult to obtain.
• A significant cause of the French revolution was the salt tax La Gabelle.  It increased over a period of eighty years about a hundred fold.
• December 1864 in the Civil War of the US, Union Forces fought a battle to capture Saltville Virginia, a site of a very important salt processing plant thought essential to sustaining the South Armies.
• In Tibet, tiny cakes of salt were pressed and used as coins.
• Roman Legionnaires were paid in salt (Salarium, the Latin origin of the word salary)
• Salt is still being used today as money in Ethiopia’s Nomads
• In spiritual and religious practices salt was and still is regarded as incorruptible immutable purity.
• In 1933, the Dalai Lama was buried sitting up in a bed of salt.
• In Buddhist and western spiritual traditions, salt repels evil spirits
• Shinto religion uses salt to purify an area
• In spiritual tradition one uses salt to cleanse crystals of negative vibrations
• In India, a gift of salt marks a potent symbol of good luck.

This shows quite clearly the importance of the substance of salt, which is essential to our life.

Sixty Uses for Salt

Although you may not realize it, simple table salt has a great number of uses other than simply seasoning your food.

The following list will give you sixty uses of salt, many of which you probably didn't realize:

1. Soak stained hankies in salt water before washing.

2. Sprinkle salt on your shelves to keep ants away.

3. Soak fish in salt water before descaling; the scales will come off easier.

4. Put a few grains of rice in your salt shaker for easier pouring.

5. Add salt to green salads to prevent wilting.

6. Test the freshness of eggs in a cup of salt water; fresh eggs sink; bad ones float.

7. Add a little salt to your boiling water when cooking eggs; a cracked egg will

stay in its shell this way.

8. A tiny pinch of salt with egg whites makes them beat up fluffier.

9. Soak wrinkled apples in a mildly salted water solution to perk them up.

10. Rub salt on your pancake griddle and your flapjacks won't stick.

11. Soak toothbrushes in salt water before you first use them; they will last longer.

12. Use salt to clean your discolored coffee pot.

13. Mix salt with turpentine to whiten you bathtub and toilet bowl.

14. Soak your nuts in salt brine overnight and they will crack out of their shells whole.

Just tap the end of the shell with a hammer to break it open easily.

15. Boil clothespins in salt water before using them and they will last longer.

16. Clean brass, copper and pewter with paste made of salt and vinegar, thickened

with flour.

17. Add a little salt to the water your cut flowers will stand in for a longer life.

18. Pour a mound of salt on an ink spot on your carpet; let the salt soak up the stain.

19. Clean you iron by rubbing some salt on the damp cloth on the ironing surface.

20. Adding a little salt to the water when cooking foods in a double boiler will

make the food cook faster.

21. Use a mixture of salt and lemon juice to clean piano keys.

22. To fill plaster holes in your walls, use equal parts of salt and starch, with just

enough water to make a stiff putty.

23. Rinse a sore eye with a little salt water.

24. Mildly salted water makes an effective mouthwash. Use it hot for a sore throat

gargle.

25. Dry salt sprinkled on your toothbrush makes a good tooth polisher.

26. Use salt for killing weeds in your lawn.

27. Eliminate excess suds with a sprinkle of salt.

28. A dash of salt in warm milk makes a more relaxing beverage.

29. Before using new glasses, soak them in warm salty water for awhile.

30. A dash of salt enhances the taste of tea.

31. Salt improves the taste of cooking apples.

32. Soak your clothes line in salt water to prevent your clothes from freezing to the

line; likewise, use salt in your final rinse to prevent the clothes from freezing.

33. Rub any wicker furniture you may have with salt water to prevent yellowing.

34. Freshen sponges by soaking them in salt water.

35. Add raw potatoes to stews and soups that are too salty.

36. Soak enamel pans in salt water overnight and boil salt water in them next

day to remove burned-on stains.

37. Clean your greens in salt water for easier removal of dirt.

38. Gelatin sets more quickly when a dash of salt is added.

39. Fruits put in mildly salted water after peeling will not discolor.

40. Fabric colors hold fast in salty water wash.

41. Milk stays fresh longer when a little salt is added.

42. Use equal parts of salt and baking soda for brushing your teeth.

43. Sprinkle salt in your oven before scrubbing clean.

44. Soaked discolored glass in a salt and vinegar solution to remove stains.

45. Clean greasy pans with a paper towel and salt.

46. Salty water boils faster when cooking eggs.

47. Add a pinch of salt to whipping cream to make it whip more quickly.

48. Sprinkle salt in milk-scorched pans to remove odour.

49. A dash of salt improves the taste of coffee.

50. Boil mismatched hose in salty water and they will come out matched.

51. Salt and baking soda will sweeten the odor of your refrigerator.

52. Cover wine-stained fabric with salt; rinse in cool water later.

53. Remove offensive odors from stove with salt and cinnamon.

54. A pinch of salt improves the flavor of cocoa.

55. To remove grease stains in clothing, mix one part salt to four parts alcohol.

56. Salt and lemon juice removes mildew.

57. Sprinkle salt between sidewalk bricks where you don't want grass growing.

58. Polish your old kerosene lamp with salt for a brighter look.

59. Remove odors from sink drainpipes with a strong, hot solution of salt water.

60. If a pie bubbles over in your oven, put a handful of salt on top of the spilled juice. The mess won't smell and will bake into a dry, light crust which will wipe off easily when the oven has cooled
.

Now that you know some of  these things you can go out and apply it to your everyday life.