Reddit Reddit reviews Salt: A World History

We found 91 Reddit comments about Salt: A World History. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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91 Reddit comments about Salt: A World History:

u/GeeJo · 2800 pointsr/xkcd

NB: I'm done with the whole set now. A whole bunch of "blocks" seem to have gotten tangled up in the spam filter. With this subreddit's largely inactive moderation, I have no idea how to fix this. If you want to read all of my answers, go through the last few pages of my profile's submitted comments.

Second note: Since this has blown up on /r/bestof, I think I should clarify that the star/no-star thing isn't me trying to show off how how little I need to look up stuff because I'm all-knowing and infallible - it's to indicate that I HAVEN'T LOOKED UP THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION - I MIGHT BE WRONG. Common ones I've been corrected on are the // thing, the svchost thing, the trees-in-fields issue and the moustaches on cars. Bullets are blunt for aerodynamic reasons, Poseidon actually favoured the Greeks and it was all down to the son-killing. With that caveat in place, here we go:

Answers - first "box" (starred ones are ones I had to look up):

Why do whales jump*?
No-one knows exactly, though it's theorised that socialising is part of it, as its a far more common behaviour in pods than with lone whales.

Why are witches green?
There are theories floating around that it's to link them with death/putrefaction or plants/herbs. Personally, I think it's mostly because of the popularity of the film version of The Wizard of Oz, where the green skin was chosen partly to indicate she's a bad guy in a kid's fantasy world, and partly because it helped demonstrate their new Technicolour technology.

Why are there mirrors above beds? Ask your parents when you're older. Or don't, since you'll probably work it out by yourself by then. If you mean on the wall behind beds, I've never really seen this as common, but mirrors help to give the impression that the room is larger than it actually is.

Why do I say uh? This is a phenomenon called "speech dysfluency". Again, no definitive answer but often explained as placeholders while you struggle to find the word you use next. If you mean "why uh as opposed to, say, quorpl", different languages have different dysfluencies. You say uh/um because you speak English or another language that uses the same sound for this purpose.

Why is sea salt better? It's not really, it just has a cachet to it these days as panning is a more labour-intensive process and the added expense means more exclusivity. Prior to industrialised salt-making, people wanted finer-grained salt. There's a REALLY interesting book on the subject by Mark Kurlansky, if you want to know more about the history of the stuff.

Why are there trees in the middle of fields? They provide shade for field-workers during breaks. Less relevant now with increasing mechanisation, so most are there these days because they've "always" been there, and getting rid of trees is a bitch of a job.

Why is there not a Pokemon MMO*? The creator wanted (and still wants) to encourage people to play games with one another face to face. MMOs don't work like that.

Why is there laughing in TV shows? Because comedy shows with laugh tracks have historically outperformed those without them. People might bitch about them, the same way people bitch about trailers that give away too much of the story, but market research shows that you get more butts in seats regardless of the bitching, so that's the way they do it. I believe that the data on laugh tracks is coming back differently these days, which is why they're largely fading out.

Why are there doors on the freeway? Maintenance access. That or portals to alternate realities, depending on whether you've read 1Q84.

Why are there so many svchost.exe running? Failsafing. The svchost processes handle background services for the operating system. You have a lot of them because it means that if there's an error with one service (and hence one svchost process) it doesn't bring down the whole thing. There are other ways of handling this, but this is the way that Windows chose to go.

Why aren't there any countries in Antarctica? The Antarctic Treaty of (let me look it up) 1961 disallowed signatories from taking permanent territorial sovereignty of the continent. This hasn't stopped countries claiming chunks of land (including overlapping claims like the Argentine-British annoyance) but in practice access is shared for scientific research. Tat said, I expect that if it ever became economically worthwhile to actually start exploiting the resources in Antarctica, the Treaty would go up in a puff of smoke.

Why are there scary sounds in Minecraft? Because they add to a sense of danger, which gives a bit more of a thrill to players. It also gives another incentive to avoid Creepers, as the explosion scares the bejeezus out of me every time, even without the environmental damage.

Why is there kicking in my stomach? - you know those sticks you can buy that you pee on and get one line or two? You might want to go and get one of those. And then schedule an appointment with a doctor.

Why are there two slashes after http? Syntax - it separates the protocol being used (ftp being an alternative) from the address you're looking for.

u/rseasmith · 453 pointsr/science

For a fun read, I love The Disappearing Spoon.

For a while, I've been meaning to read Salt which is another fun read.

I also just love the Periodic Table of Videos YouTube channel for other fun stuff.

Textbook-wise, you can't beat Stumm and Morgan or Metcalf and Eddy for your water chemistry/water treatment needs.

u/halfascientist · 50 pointsr/funny

They absolutely are--google "highways" and "indian trails" and you can find twenty local news articles about it from various locales in the United States. We built highways, and eventually big interstates, on top of the roads that we built on conveniently established tracks stomped down (and eventually ridden on, after horses were introduced) by Native Americans. Those Native Americans were, similarly, walking on top of game trails, which often went between important resource locations, like a good spring--or according to Mark Kurlansky, salt licks--or through or around obstacles in efficient ways.

We're driving 75mph on top of old, paved-over game trails. Not just deer, but buffalo or lots of other herd creatures--some of them may have been established previously by now-extinct megafauna. If the Interstate seems to not go exactly where you want it to, blame the woolly mammoths.

Oh, similarly, if you like this sort of thing, check out Craig McClain's instant-classic piece about how modern U.S. Presidential Elections are influenced by a 100-million-year-old coastline!

u/KarateRobot · 34 pointsr/AskHistorians
u/Atty_for_hire · 15 pointsr/Cooking

I also enjoy history of food books. However, not all of them have the cookbook aspect to them. Here are a few, I’ve read:

Milk: The Surprising Story...

Salt

Consider the Fork

u/Julisan · 13 pointsr/books

After Guns, Germs and Steel I read and enjoyed Salt: A World History

u/grotgrot · 12 pointsr/AskHistorians

In the book Salt it mentioned India being forced to export salt to the UK at low prices. Was that an isolated incident or were forced (cheap) exports the norm for the empire? If the latter, were the UK consumer savings a significant amount?

u/Asshole_Salad · 11 pointsr/AskHistorians

This is actually a really good book about salt. It was widely available in little shakers and otherwise, and the supply and demand of it changed world history several times over. He compares it to oxygen - it's something you take for granted but when you don't have it, it's suddenly very, very important.

http://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346953278&sr=1-1

u/GoAskAlice · 11 pointsr/explainlikeimfive

Seconding the recommendation for Salt - fascinating read. You'd never imagine half the stuff in that book.

u/Masi_menos · 11 pointsr/INTP

Philosophy, writing, gaming, art (music, photography, /r/glitch_art). Honestly anything classified as a "soft science" kinda gets my motor going. I also really like anthorpology...specifically food anthro. I just started reading through Salt: A World History, and it's been interesting so far. From Amazon:
> In his fifth work of nonfiction, Mark Kurlansky turns his attention to a common household item with a long and intriguing history: salt. The only rock we eat, salt has shaped civilization from the very beginning, and its story is a glittering, often surprising part of the history of humankind. A substance so valuable it served as currency, salt has influenced the establishment of trade routes and cities, provoked and financed wars, secured empires, and inspired revolutions. Populated by colorful characters and filled with an unending series of fascinating details, Salt is a supremely entertaining, multi-layered masterpiece.

u/electric_sandwich · 11 pointsr/AskReddit

Roman soldiers were paid in salt. Ghandi's uprising in India was because of salt. Roads in small towns and cities were based on on old indian trails, which were based on deer trails. At the end of every deer trail was a salt lick. Improvements in salt making made it possible to preserve fish and meat in salt, making the discovery of the new world possible.

Fascinating book: http://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619

u/torgul · 10 pointsr/booksuggestions

Salt is exactly what you are looking for!

u/jamabake · 10 pointsr/books

Ah, I love non-fictin as well. Though most of my favorites are more science oriented, there should be a few on here that pique your interest.

  • Salt: A World History - A fascinating history of humanity's favorite mineral. Wars have been fought over it, it sustained whole economies ... you'll be surprised to learn just how much of human history has been influenced by salt.
  • A Short History of Nearly Everything - One of my favorite books. Bryson tells the story and history of science through amazing discoveries and stories about the quirky people who made them.
  • Homage to Catalonia - A mostly auto-biographical account of George Orwell's time fighting for the communists in the Spanish Civil War.
  • Capital: Vol. 1 Marx's seminal work and a logically sound criticism of capitalism. Whether or not you agree with his proposed solutions, his criticism is spot on. Depending on how leftist you are, you may have already read The Communist Manifesto. It's a nice introduction to Marx's ideas, but you should really go straight to the source and just read Capital.
  • Why We Believe What We Believe - The neurology of belief, what could be more interesting? The authors go into great detail on how belief happens at the neurological level, as well as summing up nicely all sorts of findings from differing fields relating to belief. The most interesting part is the research the authors themselves conducted: fMRI scans of people praying, Buddhist monks meditating, Pentecostals speaking in tongues, and an atheist meditating.
u/SweetAndVicious · 9 pointsr/history

The book Salt: a world history is pretty cool.

Salt: A World History
by Mark Kurlansky
Link: http://amzn.com/0142001619

u/ducatimechanic · 9 pointsr/todayilearned

Early Romans yes, later Romans, no. So, the simple answer is "yes", and this is why all the related words.

http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/0142001619

The link above is for Mark Kurlansky's book "Salt" that basically tells you everything you ever wanted to know about Sodium Chloride, but were afraid to ask.

He also has books on Cod (the fish), Birdseye (the guy who froze vegetables), and several others. He's a social historian who focuses on specific topics and then shows how they've connected history and the development of society throughout time. They're good reads if you're into learning about the details of common things that had a huge impact.

u/Buffalo__Buffalo · 8 pointsr/asoiaf

It's even more than that - the first form of artificial food preservation (that is to say beyond letting grapes wither on the vine to make raisins or the spontaneous fermentation of fruit or juice and into intentionally creating an environment with which to preserve food in) was by the use of salt, often to promote lacto-fermentation. (The other contender here is smoking as a method of preservation of but whether it occurred by happenstance or by intention is anyone's guess.)

Many foods that you find today, especially sauces, pickles, and things that are (traditionally) sour were originally lacto-fermented with salt. Many foods today are still preserved in a traditional way. Some common ones are pickes (obviously) but also sushi, kimchi, soy sauce, tempeh, salted fish like rollmops, sauerkraut, ketchup, shrimp paste and so on.

Here's a video to get you started on the history of salt/lactic acid fermentation for food preservation and here's your further reading.

u/quartzquandary · 8 pointsr/NatureIsFuckingLit

I swear I'm starting to become a salt facts bot, but if you're interested in salt, you really should pick up Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky. It's really fascinating!!

u/iesvy · 8 pointsr/mexico

La sal en exceso es mala, no consumir sal en lo único que te ayudara a bajar de peso es en ayudarte a deshidratarte.

Los problemas que tenemos con la sal normalmente son a causa de la comida procesada que contiene sal en exceso.

http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/menu/que-le-pasa-tu-cuerpo-si-dejas-la-sal

Te recomiendo muchísimo este libro para conocer la historia de la sal.

Salt: A World History https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/0142001619/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_29j6Bb889GJFQ

u/lastingd · 8 pointsr/todayilearned

This book is an essential read, as is COD by the same author. Riveting stuff.

u/MaIakai · 7 pointsr/conspiracy

Read your own page.

> "According to The Mayo Clinic and Australian Professor Bruce Neal, the health consequences of ingesting sea salt or regular table salt are the same, as the content of sea salt is still mainly sodium chloride.[11][12] "

Stop being scared of chemical names. CHLORIDE IS NOT A MAN MADE CONSPIRACY. You want to reduce your overall salt intake, great. But don't spout crap about a natural nutrient.

https://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halite


https://books.google.com/books?id=_R00NqWST6MC&pg=PA248&dq=some+sea+salt+contain+sulfates&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiTv_P-9bbUAhUU7GMKHd6WAJ44ChDoAQgxMAM#v=onepage&q=some%20sea%20salt%20contain%20sulfates&f=false

u/drzowie · 7 pointsr/askscience

Well, it just means it's not as surprising as the shock sites would have you believe. Osmotic pressure modification is a pretty well known way to preserve food -- by direct dehydration (as in raisins, beans or peas, hardtack, and jerky), salting or sugaring (as in pickles, jam, garum, and salt pork), or a combination of those things (as in fruit roll-ups and bacon). Since McDonald's patties are salted and cooked well-done, it's not surprising that they act in some ways like jerky.

Incidentally, the fact that high osmotic pressure inhibits bacterial growth has had a very long and interesting effect throughout history. Garum was on virtually every Roman dinner table, and variants of it led to the development of soy sauce (originally a poor man's substitute for good salted fish sauce) and ketchup. Saltworks were key to roman conquest of the mediterranean, mostly because they were used to preserve food. More recently, lack of salt in the American south was a major contributing factor to the North's success in the American civil war. If this kind of stuff interests you, have a gander at Kurlansky's "Salt: A World History".

u/DonOblivious · 7 pointsr/AskCulinary

Preservation. Refrigeration is a modern invention: butter used to be heavily salted to slow spoilage. When you wanted to use the butter, you'd wash the salt out with water to make it edible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJL-HYSlvRM The whole video is good, but the most relevant bit is at 7:30'ish.

https://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619

As for why we still have salted butter? It tastes good when used as a condiment.

u/gosassin · 7 pointsr/curiousvideos

If this is of interest to you, I recommend you read the book "Salt: A World History" by Mark Kurlansky. Among many other things, he goes into great detail about how salt has been used as a flavoring and preserving agent in condiments for millennia. He talks specifically about garum.

u/Carpe_deis · 6 pointsr/civ

You are so right! Modern IRL civs don't just ban random luxury goods (kinder eggs, pot, heroin, horse meat) that gameplay feature is totally unrealistic.

Salt and citrus, so unimportant in the modern world, film and luxury jewelry are way more important.

Film industry: 38 billion in global sales, 2016

Jewelry: 70 billion in global sales, 2016

Citrus: 100 billion in global sales, 2015

Salt: 21 billion in global value, 2013. This is just for NaCl, MgSO4 or magnesium sulphate is another 7 billion (in 2015) and there are a number of other "salts" out there that "salt" in civ undoubtedly represents, since there are no sodium bisulphate, potassium dichromate, or calcium chloride luxury resources represented, and are these key pieces of historic and modern food and chemical production. If anything salts are far more important in a modernized industrial world than in a pre industrial world.

If anything salt should be a strategic luxury, required for most classical through modern era units.

For further reading, check out market data reports (if you can find ones not behind a steep paywall) and this book: https://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619

u/brokenearth02 · 6 pointsr/WTF

Read [Salt](http://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229375215&sr=8-1 "His other books are equally awesome") by Mark Kurlansky; it goes into detail about ancient Chinese salt works, including the invention of drilling and percussion drilling, all for salt sources.

u/SlowCarbSnacktime · 6 pointsr/TrollXChromosomes

Oh wow, good luck with immigration!!

How do you feel about the They're Real mascara? I kind of love it. I also have the MAC Gigablack whatever and the Too Faced lashgasm - they are not quite as intense, but probably better for everyday wear.

That book looks great! I have Kitchen Confidential on my nightstand right now, and this!

u/Pitta_ · 5 pointsr/Cooking

in medieval and tudor times this would certainly be true, but by the victorian period the spice world had drastically changed!

depending on where you lived in the world there may be wild herbs available to forage. mint, fennel, dill probably, garlic for sure all grow wild in the UK, or could be cultivated in gardens. in more arid places like the middle east/northern africa/the mediterranean things like rosemary, oregano, bay would be available.

and during victorian times spices would have been more available to people in the UK and elsewhere in europe because of colonization of india (which started in the 1600s ish, and would have been well established 200 years ago in the early victorian period.).

in medieval and tudor times spices would have been very expensive for sure, but once the east india company and the spice trade really gets rolling they become much more available. a lot of victorian cookbooks mention spices quite frequently, so one can assume they were being used regularly!

and if you're interested in salt, which victorians would have certainly eaten a lot of and been buying quite regularly, mark kurlansky's book "salt" (it's just called salt) is a truly fascinating look at the micro-history of salt!!

u/lessmiserables · 5 pointsr/civ

Well...OK, maybe I worded that poorly.

Food preservation was much more important for military applications than it was for everyday life. I.e., salt allowed provisions to last significantly longer, which meant that military excursions could last longer and go further (and cheaper!). Whereas from a civilian day-to-day standpoint its effects were significant but relatively smaller.

There's a reason in Rise of Nations Salt reduced the cost of infantry units.

I recommend this book: Salt: A World History.

u/kandoras · 5 pointsr/TrollXChromosomes

I'm finishing up Salt: A World History and then I'll take the weekend to go through Reaper Man in a single session. It's one of the few Terry Pratchett's I haven't read yet.

u/thetasine · 4 pointsr/AskReddit

Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky

Very entertaining read. I was surprised just how much salt has influenced world history.

u/tritter211 · 4 pointsr/bestof

Here's Block 1 for those who don't want to scroll:

Answers - first "box" (starred ones are ones I had to look up):

Why do whales jump? No-one knows exactly, though it's theorised that socialising is part of it, as its a far more common behaviour in pods than with lone whales.

Why are witches green? There are theories floating around that it's to link them with death/putrefaction or plants/herbs. Personally, I think it's mostly because of the popularity of the film version of The Wizard of Oz, where the green skin was chosen partly to indicate she's a bad guy in a kid's fantasy world, and partly because it helped demonstrate their new Technicolour technology.

Why are there mirrors above beds? Ask your parents when you're older. Or don't, since you'll probably work it out by yourself by then. If you mean on the wall behind beds, I've never really seen this as common, but mirrors help to give the impression that the room is larger than it actually is.

Why do I say uh? This is a phenomenon called "speech dysfluency". Again, no definitive answer but often explained as placeholders while you struggle to find the word you use next. If you mean "why uh as opposed to, say, quorpl", different languages have different dysfluencies. You say uh/um because you speak English or another language that uses the same sound for this purpose.

Why is sea salt better? It's not really, it just has a cachet to it these days as panning is a more labour-intensive process and the added expense means more exclusivity. Prior to industrialised salt-making, people wanted finer-grained salt. There's a REALLY interesting book on the subject by Mark Kurlansky, if you want to know more about the history of the stuff.

Why are there trees in the middle of fields? They provide shade for field-workers during breaks. Less relevant now with increasing mechanisation, so most are there these days because they've "always" been there, and getting rid of trees is a bitch of a job.

Why is there not a Pokemon MMO
?
The creator wanted (and still wants) to encourage people to play games with one another face to face. MMOs don't work like that.

Why is there laughing in TV shows? Because comedy shows with laugh tracks have historically outperformed those without them. People might bitch about them, the same way people bitch about trailers that give away too much of the story, but market research shows that you get more butts in seats regardless of the bitching, so that's the way they do it. I believe that the data on laugh tracks is coming back differently these days, which is why they're largely fading out.

Why are there doors on the freeway? Maintenance access. That or portals to alternate realities, depending on whether you've read 1Q84.

Why are there so many svchost.exe running? Failsafing. The svchost processes handle background services for the operating system. You have a lot of them because it means that if there's an error with one service (and hence one svchost process) it doesn't bring down the whole thing. There are other ways of handling this, but this is the way that Windows chose to go.

Why aren't there any countries in Antarctica? The Antarctic Treaty of (let me look it up) 1961 disallowed signatories from taking permanent territorial sovereignty of the continent. This hasn't stopped countries claiming chunks of land (including overlapping claims like the Argentine-British annoyance) but in practice access is shared for scientific research. Tat said, I expect that if it ever became economically worthwhile to actually start exploiting the resources in Antarctica, the Treaty would go up in a puff of smoke.

Why are there scary sounds in Minecraft? Because they add to a sense of danger, which gives a bit more of a thrill to players. It also gives another incentive to avoid Creepers, as the explosion scares the bejeezus out of me every time, even without the environmental damage.

Why is there kicking in my stomach? - you know those sticks you can buy that you pee on and get one line or two? You might want to go and get one of those. And then schedule an appointment with a doctor.

Why are there two slashes after http? Syntax - it separates the protocol being used (ftp being an alternative) from the address you're looking for.

u/[deleted] · 4 pointsr/AskReddit

There is a great book on the history of salt that I read not too long ago.

http://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619

u/EatingCake · 4 pointsr/MLS

I had to read a book on the history of Salt for a history class in highschool. Fascinating subject, covered everything from how access to salt shaped societal and civilizational development to salt being used as a currency to how techniques for gathering/creating salt developed over time.

http://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619 I recommend it.

u/MBAMBA0 · 3 pointsr/history

www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619

u/FormerEbayAddict · 3 pointsr/funny

I think you would thoroughly enjoy the book ['Salt: A World History' by Mark Kurlansky] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0142001619/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_JvsOAbCM36WBA)

u/CorruptDuck · 3 pointsr/booksuggestions

Slightly relevant and very fascinating is this book about salt: http://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619

u/infracanis · 3 pointsr/geology

Well, animals enjoy salt licks so people could see where they congregated and examine the area. Also salt changes vegetation patterns.

There is a great nonfiction book about human's relationship with salt by Mark Kurlansky. You could find that in the library and it would probably answer any other questions.

u/cysghost · 3 pointsr/preppers

There was a really well written book about salt and its' various uses, https://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619, not exactly an essential to a prepper's library, but an interesting read.

u/sumeone123 · 3 pointsr/funny

I read that in Roman times that salt was such a valuable commodity, that trying get enough salt to salt Carthage would have been such a massive economic undertaking that it probably never happened. It was more probably propaganda by the Romans as a warning never to fuck with them.

This was the book I found this tidbit of information in.

Also in the Roman times, pikes in the form that we know today, did not exist. The closest they had in that time period, was the Macedonian Sarissa.

History Nazi ftw?

u/fdar_giltch · 3 pointsr/AskHistory

There's actually a surprisingly fascinating book on the history of salt as an economy.

In addition to the response below, it was very common to have shallow pools near the ocean, such that high tide would fill the pools, then the water would evaporate during low tide and the salt would be harvested. (edit: whoops, I read the other comment quickly and missed that it touched on this as well. However, this was not only done at warm climates; the book outlines a harvesting operation on the coast of France)

It also discussed how important salt was to meat economies, for example the ability to salt cod when it was caught in the northern Atlantic Ocean, for transport all across Europe.

u/forgettableme · 2 pointsr/books

Salt: a world history.
My favorite book on world history, all told revolving around salt. It's caused many wars, is responsible for colonization, and has influenced where cities and countries drew their boarders.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0142001619

u/BluShine · 2 pointsr/AskHistorians

Food is a universal motivator. What if you had students research historical cooking? And after a week or two, you have each student bring in a recipe they've prepared from historical period/culture of their choice? And also give a presentation or write a short paper about how the food came about, or how it influence history and culture.

I've recently been trying recipes from this blog about recreating ancient Roman cuisine. Not exactly an academic source, but does cite the passages from Roman writings that inspire his exploits.

The book Salt: A World History would also be a great source, and is very easy-to-read and IMHO quite interesting. Many parts of it would make good excerpts for reading in class and introducing ideas. The same author has similar books on Cod and Oysters.

I'm no expert, I'm just stealing this idea because it's an assignment that I was given in High School, and was one of the most memorable and fun.

u/gh3rkin · 2 pointsr/todayilearned

I highly recommend reading Salt: A world history. This is one of the many accidental discoveries that happened due to the hunt for salt. Another interesting one is the discovery of natural gas in china that they ended up piping through bamboo and using for cooking etc.

u/MrVicePresident · 2 pointsr/todayilearned

There is a whole book about the history of salt. It's been awhile since I read it but it's really good imo.

Amazon Linky

u/PunchYouInTheVagina · 2 pointsr/sanfrancisco

Mark Kurlanksy talks about them in his book "Salt: A World History". Damn good stuff http://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619

u/Independent · 2 pointsr/history

I really like history books that don't at first seem to be history books, but are explorations of societies sometimes seen through the lens of a single important concept or product. For instance, Mark Kurlansky has several books such as Salt; A World History, Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World, The Basque History of the World, Nonviolence: 25 Lessons from the History of a Dangerous Idea that teach more history, and more important history than is usually taught in US public schools.

History need not be rote memorization of dates and figures. It can, and should be a fun exploration of ideas and how those ideas shaped civilizations. It can also be an exploration of what did not make it into the history books as Bart Ehrman's Lost Scriptures: Books that Did Not Make It into the New Testament or his Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why and Elaine Pagels' The Gnostic Gospels attest.

I don't wish to come across as too glib about this, but I feel like the average person might well retain more useful knowledge reading a book like A History of the World in 6 Glasses than if they sat through a semester of freshman history as taught by most boring, lame generic high schools. I feel like often the best way to understand history is to come at it tangentially. Want to understand the US Constitution? Study the Iroquois confederacy. Want to understand the French? Study cuisine and wine. Want to understand China? Study international trade. And so it goes. Sometimes the best history lessons come about from just following another interest such as astronomy or math or cooking. Follow the path until curiosity is sated. Knowledge will accumulate that way. ;-)

u/chaotey · 2 pointsr/AskHistorians

No, the correct answer from any historian would be that salt was used in the preservation of foods an the treatment of wounds, vitally important for armies. I recommend at least a casual perusal of salt.

u/Jade_Orange · 2 pointsr/tea

You really should buy The Medical Detectives. It's a great read and it's got several fascinating food-related stories/articles! You may also enjoy Salt which is a historical look at the world's most in-demand rock.

u/jrs1980 · 2 pointsr/Showerthoughts

If I may recommend, Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky.

u/CantLoseCudi · 2 pointsr/history

This book seems surprisingly interesting. Thank you!

u/agatha361 · 2 pointsr/manga

I feel like Dr. Stone should shine a bigger spot light on Salt production.

https://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619/

u/SomeIrishGuy · 2 pointsr/booksuggestions

I haven't read At Home, so I'm not entirely sure what it's about, but based on the description on amazon it sounds like he uses everyday objects as starting points to discuss historical events. There are a number of similar books such as Salt and A History of the World in 6 Glasses. This genre is frequently referred to as "microhistory".

u/BobBobuliss · 2 pointsr/history

Salt: A World History https://www.amazon.com/dp/0142001619/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fOeiAbXBEG424. Probably no short answers to this question.

u/phylogenous · 2 pointsr/ketoscience

I haven't read this book, so I can't answer your question, but if you are interested enough, here's a history of salt.

u/Hart_Attack · 2 pointsr/TagProIRL

Check out Jon Ronson! I've only read two of his books, The Psychopath Test and Lost at Sea, but they were both really good.

Here are a couple daily show interviews about the books if you want to get a feel for them. They're super entertaining. He's also had a couple segments on This American Life about similar subject matter.

On a different note, Salt is also way more interesting than it has any right to be.

There are others but oh god I really need to be studying for my exams.

u/MavEtJu · 2 pointsr/explainlikeimfive

From http://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619

“salt is so common, so easy to obtain, and so inexpensive that we have forgotten that from the beginning of civilization until about 100 years ago, salt was one of the most sought-after commodities in human history.”

and https://www.seasalt.com/salt-101/history-of-salt/ which talks about the historical values of salt, for example the salt-routes.

u/sgtredred · 2 pointsr/history

Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky. A surprisingly fun read and interesting read.

A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage. Another fun read. Touches on some great topics, like the "which came first: beer or bread" debate, but doesn't go into topics as deeply as I would have liked.

I haven't read these two yet, but it's on my list:

Spice: The History of a Temptation by Jack Turner

An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage

u/Jewtheist · 2 pointsr/civ

Salt is probably the most important of the luxury resources throughout history, so it's very accurate that it's the best one. There's an interesting read on it.

u/MakeMeAMajorForThis · 2 pointsr/AskFoodHistorians

I'm currently reading Salt: A World History, and it seems to be along the lines of what you're looking for.

u/rodion_kjd · 2 pointsr/Cooking

Dude. I fucking LOVE salt. There is this guy, Mark Kurlansky, who has written a world history about salt. He also wrote a similar book about cod (the fish). It isn't really a cooking book, per se, but it is one of the most fascinating things I've ever read. I picked it up and I think I read the entire thing in two sittings. Highly recommended.

http://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407437929&sr=8-1&keywords=salt+a+world+history

Actually, if I didn't already give my copy away (I'll have to check when I get home) I'll mail you my copy. Great fucking book.

u/Aulritta · 1 pointr/funny

I have a book about the world history of Salt.

u/ladyuniscorn · 1 pointr/books

I loved People's History, Salt, The Cheese and the Worms, the Edmond Morris series on TR, Common Women, and Gender and Jim Crow.

u/JuanJondre · 1 pointr/funny

The book Salt: A World History was pretty good, actually. I recommend it.

u/JustDroppinBy · 1 pointr/Overwatch
u/halfbeak · 1 pointr/AskReddit

Bogus Science: Or, Some People Really Believe These Things by John Grant

Currently re-reading Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky

u/nowxisxforever · 1 pointr/IAmA

I love documentaries, personally. :) I read a book that reads a lot like a documentary on salt... fascinating. I need to go buy all the artisan salts now.

u/LiliVonSchtupp · 1 pointr/explainlikeimfive

The intro to this book is all about how this guy had bought a lovely chunk of salt as a decorative piece, took it home, and kept finding pools of salt water that had leeched from it. He tried everything to keep it dry, but every time there was some humidity in the room, or it rained outside, or he just wasn't paying attention—bam, more salt water. He thought it was so intriguing he began researching the history of salt.
http://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619

u/cariusQ · 1 pointr/AskHistorians

Curing meat was secondary factor. For most lower class and the poor, salt was simply too expensive to be used to cure meat.

The real reason is this; you would die if you don't eat salt. For example, your nervous system and brain would cease to function if you don't have sodium. Go read up on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_potential
Muscle contraction also depend on the sodium channel. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_contraction#Skeletal_muscle_contractions

Russia was trying to make rebel's life miserable. It's easy in our age of abundant to forget how precious salt used to be.

Throughout history, salt was a very precious commodity. A lot of societies had salt tax as an important source of government revenue(look up Gandhi's Salt March). You either have to mine it or made it from evaporation of sea water then transport it long distance, making it super expensive.

If you still interested, go read this book.
http://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344753543&sr=1-1&keywords=salt




u/Falsequivalence · 1 pointr/Jokes

If you'd like to read about it, this book is awesome

u/Gov_LePetomaine · 1 pointr/booksuggestions

The Omnivore's Dilemama. Salt. Both are great reads.

u/Senrabil · 1 pointr/history

A really interesting history of Salt that I read a couple year's back is Kurlansky's (sp?) "Salt: A World History". It's pretty long, but I found it intriguing!

Edit: Here's an Amazon link - http://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619

Edit 2: He also has a couple of good books on Cod and Oysters!

u/caught_thought · 1 pointr/gaybros

Someone already suggested it, but I'd like to restate House of Leaves. Though perhaps it's not a good vacation book because it will suck you in and it's kind of a dark book.

The Xanth and Apprentice Adept series by Piers Anthony are really quick reads; they're corny as shit fantasy for teenage boys, but they got me through some rough years so I'll always have a spot for them. Also on the fantasy side, check out Hyperion.

On the nonfiction side: Stiff and Salt were both awesome. I've read a bunch of other books by the author of Stiff, and they're all worth it--she's very accessible and funny, but also serious and respectful of the topics.

u/mymybrimi · 1 pointr/history

Mark Kurlansky wrote one a few years ago.

http://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1374257107&sr=8-3&keywords=salt

I read his book on Cod, which was surprisingly interesting, if not a bit exhaustive.

u/JBaecker · 1 pointr/DestinyTheGame

ARE YOU WORTH YOUR SALT?

u/mule_roany_mare · 1 pointr/history

yup.

We take for granted how important salt is since it so ubiquitous.

Salt: A World History

Salt shaped cities and societies and industries.

Supposedly salt is so rare in the rain forests that certain natives have evolved to not sweat.

u/TH3R3LL1K · 1 pointr/Documentaries

I recently read a book called Salt: A World History. It was mentioned in it,, that soy sauce was initially developed in China and not Japan. Is there any solid proof to this?

u/SnapshillBot · 1 pointr/EnoughTrumpSpam



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u/TerpPhysicist · 1 pointr/askscience

So, scattered across the world, there are salt deposits. These are normally form where the ocean water gets trapped and then evaporates, like a tidal region by the sea. However there are also large salt formations left from really ancient oceans that have evaporated entirely, like the salt flats in the southwest part of the US.

There is a great book called Salt which discusses this in great detail. His thesis is that these salt formations lead to the first groups of humans which stopped being nomadic and settled in one place. It is definitely worth the read.

u/Bartleby1955 · 1 pointr/pics
u/BigMrJWhit · 1 pointr/Cortex

My personal favorite non-fiction books that sound incredibly boring, but are actually really interesting:

Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky It's a book about salt! The history of salt, the cultural significance of salt, salt production through the ages, all about salt. It's amazing.

Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky It's the history of Cod! The author spends a good portion of the book talking about how Cod is both incredibly bland and tasteless, but also how western culture loves that bland fish and all of the interesting political movements for Cod.

And for a more serious topic: Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster by Svetlana Alexievich. This is multiple personal accounts of the Chernobyl disaster, all deeply interesting, and deeply sad. I'm only an episode into the Chernobyl HBO series, but I'm pretty sure that show is following some of characters from this book. It's a high quality book that I think is worth everyone's time, it doesn't go super in depth with the technology, just the human aspect.

u/MissMarpleSyrup · 1 pointr/funny
u/Old_Bear647 · 0 pointsr/ffxiv

This is hilarious! Thanks for sharing!

On a salt-related note: there's an amazing book about salt that's actually super interesting, if anyone is interested! https://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496595383&sr=8-1&keywords=salt+a+world+history

u/Sysfin · -1 pointsr/leagueoflegends

I see someone just finished reading this book: http://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619

u/hyene · -4 pointsr/mildlyinfuriating

Himalayan pink salt is just halite anyway, and halite is trash quality salt, often contaminated with heavy metals, lead, etc, and a byproduct of metal/mineral and fossil fuel mining/extraction. Cheap table salt is usually halite, makes me sick to my stomach and triggers migraines. I now avoid halite if I can.

Heavy Metals Contamination of Table Salt Consumed in Iran


Cheap but decent quality sea salt is only a dollar or two more than table salt (halite) and doesn't make me feel like trash, in fact the complete opposite. Good quality sea salt, harvested and evaporated properly, helps alleviate nausea, is an excellent topical and oral antibiotic, reduces inflammation, migraines, and bacterial infections. Good quality saline keeps people alive in hospitals, is one of the most frequently used mixtures in hospitals. Bags of saline.

The type of salt and where it's sourced from matters just as much as the authenticity and source of honey, for very similar reasons: pure honey is also an antibacterial and helps alleviate some health problems, whereas counterfeit honey is high-fructose corn syrup etc and causes bacterial infections and a host of health problems.

Anyway. Sorry for rambling. Had some sinus problems years ago and got into neti pots and saline rinses and discovered not all salts are created equal.... and tumbled down this \^\^ rabbit hole.

This is a great book.

https://www.amazon.com/Salt-World-History-Mark-Kurlansky/dp/0142001619