Sodium Chloride

Sodium Chloride, aka Salt.
“not worthy of his salt”, “salt of the earth” salary, salad, sausage, etc. What’s the relationship.?
Most people probably think of salt as simply that white granular food seasoning found in a salt shaker on virtually every dining table.
It is that, surely, but it is far more. It is an essential element in the diet of not only humans but of animals, and even of many plants. It is
one of the most effective and most widely used of all food preservatives (and used to preserve Egyptian mummies as well).
Its industrial and other uses are almost without number. In fact, salt has great current as well as historical interest.
Salt was of crucial importance economically. A far-flung trade in ancient Greece involving exchange of salt for slaves gave rise to the expression, “not worth his salt.” Special salt rations given early Roman soldiers were known as “salarium argentum,” the forerunner of the English word “salary.”
References to salt abound
in languages around the globe, particularly regarding salt used for food. From the Latin “sal,” for example, come such other derived words as “sauce” for example, come such other derived words as “sauce” and “sausage.” Salt was an important trading commodity carried by explorers.
Salt has played a vital part in religious ritual in many cultures, symbolizing immutable, incorruptible purity. There are more than 30 references to salt in the Bible, using expressions like “salt of the earth.” And there are many other literary and religious references to salt, including use of salt on altars.
Salt also had military significance. For instance,
it is recorded that thousands of Napoleon’s troops died during his retreat from Moscow because their wounds would not heal as a result of a lack of salt.
Jewish Temple offerings included salt; on the Sabbath, Jews still dip their bread in
salt as a remembrance of those sacrifices. In the Old Testament, Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt. Author Sallie Tisdale notes that salt is as free as the water suspending it when it’s
dissolved, and as immutable as stone when it’s dry - a fitting a fitting duality for Lot’s wife, who overlooks Sodom to this day.
Covenants in both the Old and New Testaments were often sealed with salt: the origin of the word “salvation.” In the Catholic Church, salt is
or has been used in a variety of purifying rituals. In fact, until Vatican II, a small taste of salt was placed on a baby’s lip at his or her baptism.
Jesus called his disciples “the Salt of the Earth.”
In Leonardo DaVinci’s famous painting, “The Last
Supper,” Judas Escariot has just spilled a bowl of
salt - a portent of evil and bad luck. To this day, the tradition endures that someone who spills salt should throw a pinch over his left shoulder
to ward off any devils that may be lurking behind. Don’t take too much salt though.

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learnt sth, great piece

thought I should share.