Iodized salt............

[Bob Wright]

Nita and I were talking at lunch about the popularity of sea salt nowadays instead of table salt. We both have recollections of folks who had goiter years ago, with large growths on their neck and in some cases, bulging eyes. Goiter forms as a result of an iodine deficiency, which is why iodine was added to table salt to begin with, so iodized salt. All of this to get around to my story from childhood......................

This was when I was in the fourth grade, so about ten years old at the time. Now understand I was a good child, but by no means a goody-two-boots. I wasn't bad, but was curious to the point of, well, getting me into trouble at times.

Now we had been out for recess and were coming back in to class, we being a friend and I. We observed our fourth grade teacher sitting at her desk with a glass of water. Now we had glass glasses at our school in those days, thick glass, barrel shaped, and fluted around the bottom. And she had an eye dropper dispensing drops of iodine from an iodine bottle. Now remember iodine had that label with the skull and crossbones symbol indicating deadly poison.

We thought she was trying to commit suicide. And suspicioned we might have been the cause!

Bob Wright

P.S. She survived.

 

[Tom W]

Now that's a revelation!
My wife is a teacher. When she was at her last school one of her students had plotted to push her down the stairs at the next fire drill. There were several other teachers that heard this, and they went to the principal, who did nothing at all, not even an inquiry. The kid DID manage to push another through the fence shortly thereafter...

 

[SAJohn]

The following is just FWIW: Several years ago my wife Lynn and I gave sea salt a try and we both liked it more than regular iodized table salt and so we switched. At our next annual blood tests, we both showed indications of low iodine, especially Lynn. We went back to iodized salt and Lynn added yogurt to her diet. Those changes restored our normal levels of iodine. (The internet told me that low iodine comes with being older and especially older females.) I have a lifelong love affair with eggs which have iodine, so I was less effected.

 

[toysoldier]

Since all salt comes from evaporated sea water (including the huge deposits that give our little town the nickname "Salt City") this fad for "sea salt" seems particularly ridiculous. Most of it is sold in grinders, which I do not like. It is far easier to get a measured, uniform application of salt when using Morton's ("when it rains it pours").

 

[Colonialgirl]

Never forget that Iodine also fights off the effects of radiation.
I've always used Mortons Iodized salt

 

[gramps]

Be aware there is an “goiter belt” that starts in Michigan comes down Illinois and Indiana to Tennessee, turns East through Tn straight to the Atlantic Ocean! Yep, as a kid I used to see big goiters, and large facial cancers.
gramps

 

[eveled]

Cause and effect, you make a change, to help one thing and it effects something else. That's were the expression everything in moderation, comes in to play.

Take Motrin to help with a gout attack, ended up with a kidney stone.

Rickets made a come back recently, mom's were breast feeding, and using sun block on their babies. Both good things in their own way, but leads to vitamin D defieciency.

 

[bearman49709]

Be aware there is an “goiter belt” that starts in Michigan comes down Illinois and Indiana to Tennessee, turns East through Tn straight to the Atlantic Ocean! Yep, as a kid I used to see big goiters, and large facial cancers.
gramps

Gramps I've never heard of this before so I looked this up.
The map I saw shows it starting on the west coast from the tip of Washington down to the the top of CA then east all the way to the east coast where it takes a turn to the north dividing the east coast in half with the west half included and the east half not included.
This covered almost half of the US.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

When I was a kid we use to always get a handful of rock salt when walking past the ice plant. I don't know what they used it for but there were always a couple of piles of spilled salt out in front of the plant.

 

[eric conrad]

As a kid I would knock off chips of salt from the salt blocks used for the cattle. Some was white in color and some was brown. I thought the brown ones had iodine in them. I liked brown sugar right from the box also.
Yes all salt started as sea salt. Its like when they came out with unleaded gas. Gasoline starts out unleaded but they charged more for it.
Eric

 

[Bull Barrel]

You can get iodized sea salt.

What was the name of the Morton salt plant before Morton bought it?
My parents too my oldest brother on the mine tour. He disappeared for a bit. Soon he appeared with hijs clothes stuffed with salt. Dad said he looked like Bib the Michelin man.

 

[blackhawknj]

When I went through BCT at Fort Dix in the Summer of 1967, they pushed salt tablets on us to replace what we sweated out. Still can see several recruits-including me-with white streaks on our fatigues. I think they have stopped doing that, eating processed food will give you all the salt you need.

 

[#1rugerman]

I grew up in south Alabama, around Silver hill and Summerdale there were a bunch of folks who came from a Germany, Poland, etc. these were farming commmunities for the most part. I remember as a kid seeing a good many goiters, mostly on older women.

 

[opos]

"salt" is a word I hear from my Wife probably 30 or 40 times a day...but in a different text..many of you may be old enough to know what I'm going to talk about and I'll bet there are many that will have no idea..so here goes

My Wife is a mega collector of antique "open salts" called just "salts", "salt dips", or "salt cellars"...she writes books, has a huge e bay business selling them....buys collections all over the States when there is an estate with some old folks that collected them, and is much involved with national and local collectors clubs and conventions, etc...not to be confused with salt shakers or salt and pepper shakers.

Back as far as the Victorian era there were no salt shakers..Salt had not been dealt with like Morton's did and salt absorbed moisture and became a clump..Morton's dealt with this through processing and packaging of salt, and hence the slogan "when it rains it pours" as humidity didn't make it clump any more. So the meals were served at the table and there would be a master salt in the middle of the table (much like an ash tray..but no cigarette slots) and often very ornate..there was a small spoon and each diner would dip (hence salt dip) their salt onto their food....to be a bit fancier the table setting might include the master salt and then individual salt cellars with tiny sterling spoons at each place setting and the diner would simply get their salt and have it at their place at the table...

My Wife probably has in the neighborhood of 5000 salts in various configurations...some very plain pressed glass..some very ornate cut glass and in her case highly ornate silver and sterling bases with cut glass or cobalt glass inserts...and many that are hand blown or hand made from the 1700's....we have 10 large display cabinets for her "current" display..that gets cleaned and rotated about every few months...

Just thought a little aside might be of interest...there is a large number of collectors and some of the collections value way into the tens of thousands of dollars...and never call them "itty bitty ashtrays" or refer to the silver spoons as "coke spoons"...they get really testy.

 

[Bob Wright]

"salt" is a word I hear from my Wife probably 30 or 40 times a day...but in a different text..many of you may be old enough to know what I'm going to talk about and I'll bet there are many that will have no idea..so here goes

My Wife is a mega collector of antique "open salts" called just "salts", "salt dips", or "salt cellars"...she writes books, has a huge e bay business selling them....buys collections all over the States when there is an estate with some old folks that collected them, and is much involved with national and local collectors clubs and conventions, etc...not to be confused with salt shakers or salt and pepper shakers.

Back as far as the Victorian era there were no salt shakers..Salt had not been dealt with like Morton's did and salt absorbed moisture and became a clump..Morton's dealt with this through processing and packaging of salt, and hence the slogan "when it rains it pours" as humidity didn't make it clump any more. So the meals were served at the table and there would be a master salt in the middle of the table (much like an ash tray..but no cigarette slots) and often very ornate..there was a small spoon and each diner would dip (hence salt dip) their salt onto their food....to be a bit fancier the table setting might include the master salt and then individual salt cellars with tiny sterling spoons at each place setting and the diner would simply get their salt and have it at their place at the table...

My Wife probably has in the neighborhood of 5000 salts in various configurations...some very plain pressed glass..some very ornate cut glass and in her case highly ornate silver and sterling bases with cut glass or cobalt glass inserts...and many that are hand blown or hand made from the 1700's....we have 10 large display cabinets for her "current" display..that gets cleaned and rotated about every few months...

Just thought a little aside might be of interest...there is a large number of collectors and some of the collections value way into the tens of thousands of dollars...and never call them "itty bitty ashtrays" or refer to the silver spoons as "coke spoons"...they get really testy.

Man! You sure stirred some memories! Haven't seen nor use a salter in years. And I remember those tiny little spoons, always in the same pattern as the silverware pattern. They went out with finger bowls!

Those spoons, as I recall, were like tiny teaspoons, but more squared across the tip. A peanut just fit into the bowl.

Bob Wright

 

[Acorn]

When I went through BCT at Fort Dix in the Summer of 1967, they pushed salt tablets on us to replace what we sweated out. Still can see several recruits-including me-with white streaks on our fatigues. I think they have stopped doing that, eating processed food will give you all the salt you need.

Anyone remember the flattened salt gum drops, similar to Chuckles candy, they gave to replenish what workers would sweat out in high temperature work zones?

 

[toysoldier]

When I went through BCT at Fort Dix in the Summer of 1967, they pushed salt tablets on us to replace what we sweated out. Still can see several recruits-including me-with white streaks on our fatigues. I think they have stopped doing that, eating processed food will give you all the salt you need.

Anyone remember the flattened salt gum drops, similar to Chuckles candy, they gave to replenish what workers would sweat out in high temperature work zones?

When I worked in a steel fabrication plant in '72-73, there were salt tablet dispensers scattered across the plant.

 

[winterwood]

Having a fish and seafood allergy, I find that sea salt triggers the reaction. This is not mental as the first couple of times I experienced it, I did not know that the foods contained the sea salt. I now have to read more labels and menus. Manufactures are required to list whether a product has salt or sea salt.

 

[bogus bill]

My grade school in wisconsin in the 1940`s gave us goiter pills every day. Also worked in a foundry and they had the salt pill dispenser`s.

 

[daveg.inkc]

When I went through BCT at Fort Dix in the Summer of 1967, they pushed salt tablets on us to replace what we sweated out. Still can see several recruits-including me-with white streaks on our fatigues. I think they have stopped doing that, eating processed food will give you all the salt you need.

Anyone remember the flattened salt gum drops, similar to Chuckles candy, they gave to replenish what workers would sweat out in high temperature work zones?

Yes, I remember flat, yellow salt tabs. In High School football, big jars in locker room. Coach reminding us to take.

 

[coach]

Stirring a few memories is right. I remember my grandmother always set the table with a little salt cellar made of frosted glass in the shape of a rooster that you lifted the top half off by the roosters head. Little spoon included.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

This is a 'Salt Box' my Grandmother had in her house. The wooden lid is long gone. It was kept on the table next to the stove. It has a Southwestern American Indian decoration on it. It was made long before the German Nazis came around.

 

[toysoldier]

Nice piece. I thought it might be Frankoma, as they did a lot of Indian-theme pottery, but I think that is earlier.

 

[exavid]

I always get a kick out of advertisements for 'sea salt' being better for one. Since all salt is 'sea salt' and most of the mined variety was laid down long before man showed up on the planet it seems to me it should be less contaminated than that from modern salt pans.

 

[daveg.inkc]

Thanks opos, I did not realize these existed. I want on my table. Who do I look for on Ebay? I may find another old reload book , too!

 

[toysoldier]

Thanks opos, I did not realize these existed. I want on my table. Who do I look for on Ebay? I may find another old reload book , too!

Just enter "swastika salt cellar", there are several being offered.