Payment in Salt and More

People never used umbrellas when it rained!

The first umbrellas were being used in China since 3000 BCE. But these umbrellas were not used to shield people from the rain, they were used to show a person’s rank. Umbrellas too were used in ancient Greece by the women as sunshades to protect themselves from the harsh sun. These were called parasols. In 18^th century Europe, women started using the umbrella again as a parasol. Most men thought this was silly, but a man named Jonas Hanway of England began to use an umbrella to shield himself from the rain. At first people laughed at him but eventually, found it sensible to use an umbrella to shield themselves from the rain rather than getting wet.

The Romans paid their soldiers in salt!

Part of the salary paid to the Roman soldiers was called salarium because that part of their salary was meant to be used to buy only salt (Latin- sal). Later the Romans started paying the soldiers entirely in salt hence the word “salary” came into existence. The word “salad” also derives from the salt as it was a key ingredient in Roman salads.

The earliest soup to be ever eaten was hippo soup.

Archeologists have found evidence of that the earliest soup to be ever eaten was hippo soup! They found hippo bones dating from circa 6000 BCE. But looks like some modern humans still want to remain Stone-Agers. In a book written by the English explorer Sir Samuel Baker he has given a modern recipe for hippo soup, only that the soup is mock-hippo soup! It is actually turtle soup!