Industry

The Secret Life of Ordinary Objects ← Series Home The Material Mandate: How the Clothes We Wear Codify Class, Power, and Purity The imperative to clothe oneself, like the need to eat or seek shelter, is fundamental to human existence. Yet, what began as a simple utilitarian response to climate and modesty has evolved into one of the most complex and revealing social systems we possess: the wardrobe. ...

The White Gold Standard: A World History of Salt 1 The White Gold Standard: A World History of Salt - Part 1: The Mandate of Salt 2 The White Gold Standard: A World History of Salt - Part 2: The Garum Grid: Salt, Sex, and Power in the Roman World 3 The White Gold Standard: A World History of Salt - Part 3: The Adriatic Empire: Venice, Salt Monopoly, and the Spice Trade 4 The White Gold Standard: A World History of Salt - Part 4: Friday’s Treasure: Cod, Herring, and the Northern Salt Wars 5 The White Gold Standard: A World History of Salt - Part 5: Liberté, Egalité, Tax Breaks: The Gabelle, Contraband, and Revolution 6 The White Gold Standard: A World History of Salt - Part 6: The Rock and the Soul: Gandhi’s March to End an Imperial Tax 7 The White Gold Standard: A World History of Salt - Part 7: Sodium’s Perfect Marriage: When Chemistry Dethroned the Miner 8 The White Gold Standard: A World History of Salt - Part 8: Big Salt, Little Salt: The Global Corporation and the Gourmet Revival 9 The White Gold Standard: A World History of Salt - Intro: The Rock That Built Civilizations ← Series Home Act I: The Rise and Branding of Big Salt The foundation of American Big Salt was built on strategic transportation advantage. The Morton Salt Company was founded in 1880 by Joy Morton, a Detroit-born former railroad employee. Morton began working for E. I. Wheeler and Company in Chicago, which acted as an agent for Onondaga salt companies, selling their product in the Midwest. Morton invested his entire savings of $10,000 and acquired a fleet of lake boats to deliver a year’s supply of salt inexpensively to midwestern centers during the ice-free summer months, giving his company a competitive advantage in the expanding market. ...