How salt changed the world...

     Back in ancient Rome, soldiers were given a portion of salt everyday. They'd bring their salt ration to someone who would convert it into money. This would allow each soldier to buy his own salt, and have funds left over for life's other expenses. The money collected in exchange for salt was called "salt money." The Latin word for it was salarium. As time went on, the term traveled to medieval France. It became known as a soldier's solde. Today the term is still used for a soldier's or sailor's pay. A special coin called a sol was used specifically for this purpose. The word also ended up meaning not only to a soldier's wage, but also the actual soldier.  Around the late 13th century, the french word solde, adapted again. Salarie. Sound familiar? Yup...
     Somehow, in the late 15th century, all of these words (salarium, solde, salarie) became the word we all know and love today : salary. Also known as "money, money, money, monnnnnaaaaay!!!" (Sorry, I breakout into random song a little too often.)

Did you know?

     Tons of people have heard that salt was once insanely expensive. Not true. It only became relatively spendy near the end of the 12th century because it was used as a type of taxation. As a result, many people went without salt. This created a bit of a division in "salt classes." If you had lots o' salt, it just meant that you could afford your taxes, and then some.