There is an old story about a king and his daughter. The king asked his daughter how much she loved him. She said that she loved him as much as she loved salt. Her answer upset the king. Salt is a simple thing, and it is very common. So the king thought his daughter didn’t care about him. But the king was wrong. Salt might be common, but it is very important. Throughout history, salt has caused wars and revolutions. So why do people care so much about salt?

  Salt has many uses. Our bodies need salt. If we don’t have enough, our muscles, nerves and organs can’t function properly. We put salt on icy roads to make them safe. We also use salt to produce other products. Products like plastic, paper, glass, rubber and soap depend on salt. One kind of salt is even an important part of gunpowder. But for many years, salt’s most important job was preserving food.