I read this article in a magazine:
 
Gold and Salt helped make Timbuktu rich. Miners dug gold out of mines in the southern part of the Mali empire. Workers collected Salt in the northern desert. They dug 23-kilogram (50-pounds) blocks of salt up from under the sand.

Its easy to understand why Gold was so valuable.But salt?? Here is why: People wanted salt because it made food taste better. They also use salt to preserve food, making it last a long time without rotting. Back then, salt was hard to find in other parts of the world. People in Mali even used salt as money.It once was worth as much as Gold!

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Timbuktu is in Africa by the way.

Even today people use salt for many different uses. But the main use is making food tastier. Even if people like M.S.Raju (Mantena Satyanarayana Raju) garu the famous natural doctor or naturalist in Andhra Pradesh, India advise us NOT to eat salt we do anyways. Some people say that they can't eat food without the taste of salt. Salt used to be used as medicine. M.S.R garu say that if people use it as medicine, it won't work because we used it too much regularly. Salt (if used daily) is a slow poison. If people know that using salt regularly is harmful, why use it ?? Why do only humans need salt and tasty foods ?? Animals eat food which is not as tasty as ours and they don't use or need salt either. Then why us ?? What is the history of salt ?? Who first discovered salt ?? How does even make food tastier ?? If we eat raw salt it will taste salty and not so appetizing. But when we sprinkle in food why is it so tasty ??

Why is Gold so precious ?? Why are people willing to pay such expensive prices just to buy gold ?? What is the advantage of wearing it ?? Why was gold so precious since from the olden days ?? What makes gold precious ?? Why did we build temples with gold ?? Gradually water and food are getting scarce and air is getting polluted. In the future will we have to buy air like we are buying water and food right now?? Then...is water and air precious?

What should we do to preserve air and water?

why isn't anybody not discussing...is everyone busy? Forum seems a little boring this way  

Hello Srusti,
hope you are doing good..... been a long time.... But my situation here at Hopkins is pretty bad like surviving every day and working 80 hrs a week just to get yellling from bosses (ofcourse may be similar  to most of them)... and dont know what's more to come... so i am not posting much these days, although i do see the forum pretty frequently....
But my request to you, please dont get bored with the forum and decrease your posts... its posts like yours which make me (unfortunately and may be some- more on this forum) believe in tomorrow......

Coming back to your question.....
What makes gold precious?? two ways (actually more)... leaving the special chemical properties of gold.... one, demand supply market, two, we made it precious as it seen as currency... like gold reserves (for some countries like India) .. but if you see in US gold is not a currency reserve... three, to make you think more, take it to a bit extreme and think along the lines why diamonds are precious and not coal both are made with carbon after all.....

Salt is/was precious as people in olden days used to prepare salt from sea all by themselves .... untill 100 yrs back even in India people go o coasts live for 1 month and convert/ collect sea water into sand beds, dry it up and eventually  bring salt for 1 yr to their houses or sell it etc....
Also to know why salt ... we should know the importance of salt on body... read-up the concentrations of salt in our body, blood/extra cellular fluid..... what is the concentration of salt in sea... and just think could there be a significance..... what do you think should be the taste of blood, tears and sweat etc... along the lines do you know what is in gatorade, ... what do you think is the reason certain races culturally are used to using high salt foods.... to give you a hint, the place you said is in africa.... and if you have african american freinds or went to ethinic african restaurants the ethnic dishes are a bit on the salty side......For now please dont go directly to MSR level and support or criticize a point... first form your own opinion based on your reading than we can discuss....

Regarding air and water... environment in general i think we are discussing on another thread (may be another lack of participants thread)

ofcourse again, if I/or anyone else get back with you late, please dont be upset.... keep posting... just think out loud on the post... I would love to see what you think... and how your thinking continues...

Keep posting :-)

Om sai ram

mmm.... could be one reason, than may be english islands (UK) have more access to salt But they have a very bland diet rite?!

You said you need more gatorade when you play volleyball..... do you think there is a correlation between the climate in africa and the food they eat.... is there a connection between playing volleyball and living in a climate....

However, I think its a bit too early to get into details, as i think its too young for you to get to the concepts of concentration too...... Because.... sea doesnot have 99% salt...... its 3.5 gm% and human body has 0.9%...... Further I wanted to write something on diffusion and osmosis.... let me know if you know it? If not its fine too.... let me think of a different way to explain it.....

Om sai ram

Sodium chloride (table salt) is one of the many salts in our body... but the major salt too...... Say in hospital the give patients Normal saline  thats essentially sodium chloride.....

Let me think a little bit more on a writeable way to explain relation between water retention and effect of salt concentration on retention........ and bad or good affects of their relationship....

Om sai ram