Wehavenoideaaboutwhenmanfirstbagantousesalt,butwedoknowthatithasbeenusedinmanydifferentwaysthroughoutthehistory.Forexample,it'srecordedinmanyhistorybooksthatpeoplewholivedthreethousandyearsagoatesaltedfish.ThousandsofyearsagoinEgypt,saltwasusedtopreservethedead.Insomeperiodofhistory,apersonwhostolesaltwasthoughttohavebrokenthelaw.Taketheeighteenthcenturyforexample,ifapersonwascaughtstealingsalt,hewouldbethrownintoprison.HistoryalsorecordsthatonlyinEnglandabouttenthousandpeoplewereputintoprisonduringthatcenturyforstealingsalt.Aboutonehundredandfiftyyearsbefore,ifamantookmorethanhisshareofsalt,hewouldbethoughttohavebrokenthelawandwouldbeseriouslypunished.Theoffender'searwascutoff.Saltwasanimportantitemonthedinnertableofaking.Itwasalwaysplacedinfrontofthekingwhenhesatdowntoeat.Importantguestsattheking'stablewereseatednearthesalt.Lessinimportantguestsweregivenseatsfartherawayfromit.