An ancient Norwegian legend tells us why ocean water is salty. Do you want to know the history? …
It seems that many years ago, a man lived in northern Europe who was dedicated to traveling the world in his old ship. He was a brave captain and used to overcoming the most fearsome storms, but apparently also very ambitious: he loved to make money and earn the more the merrier.
He sailed the seas transporting goods that he later sold in different ports around the world. If he struck a good deal, he would pay the sailors in his crew their fair share, keep his own earnings safely in his cabin, and whistling for joy he would grab the wheel for a new destination.
On one occasion, he arrived at a major Norwegian port where multitudes of traders were selling their freshly caught fresh fish. It gave the captain a good feeling to see so much bustle and he approached the fish market wanting to do a round business.
As he walked by, he noticed an old man with a white beard and a woolen hat pulled down over his ears, offering huge blocks of salt. He immediately went over, and since they weren’t too expensive, he bought them all. They weighed a lot and it was clear to him that it would take at least a couple of hours to transfer them to his boat, but he did not care: the effort was well worth it because he knew that in other countries, they would buy that salt at the price of gold.
It was getting dark when she let go of the moorings and, together with her crew, turned the ship heading south. The stars served as his guide and the sea was calm as an oil raft. It seemed like a perfect night, but suddenly, huge clouds appeared and a terrible storm broke out. The rain began to flood the boat and the force of the waves almost prevented them from keeping the boat afloat.
Luckily, they managed to sail to a small island with the intention of taking shelter until the storm abated. They never imagined what they were going to find there.
The captain and the sailors crossed the beach and went into the forest area looking for a cave. Suddenly, they heard a mysterious sound and hid behind a rock. What they saw was something really strange: in a clearing among the dense vegetation, a magician operated a very rare machine that they had never seen before. They took a good look and discovered what it was about: It was a contraption that crushed stones without having to touch it! The only thing the magician did to make it work was to say:
– Grind that grinds you! Grind that grinds you! Grind that grinds you!
The men couldn’t believe what they were seeing! They had seen many unusual things on their travels around the world, but never a magical artifact that worked when ordered to do so by a voice.
The captain, of course, insisted that this mill had to be his. He put a finger on his lips to indicate to the men to be silent and asked them not to move a muscle in their body so as not to be discovered.
For a long time, the group stood still, watching… The wait became eternal. Finally the sorcerer finished grinding the stone, picked up the sack, and left.
The time had come! The captain and sailors pounced on the mill to steal it and stealthily transported it to the ship. The sun was shining overhead again and they were able to zoom out of that island.
As soon as he left the coast, the captain got to work. He was very clear about how to take advantage of the mill! He found that he could grind the gigantic blocks of salt that he had bought in the port of Norway and sell it in small bags. He would definitely get very rich.
They put the machine in the cellar and put the blocks of salt inside. After the complicated operation was finished, the captain sent everyone out to be alone and began to shout:
– Grind that grinds you! Grind that grinds you! Grind that grinds you!
As expected, the large blocks began to crumble into millions of fine grains, smaller even than the sand on the beach.
Everything was going smoothly, but the captain did not take into account the power of the machine and in a matter of minutes the salt began to spread, it left through the door and invaded the deck of the ship. Very scared, he wanted to stop the mill, but could not and found himself in an uncontrolled situation.
The salt was spilling everywhere and he was about to reach the top of the pole that held the flag. As if this were not enough, due to the weight, the ship began to sink. The desperate sailors and the captain had no choice but to jump into the water to try to save their lives.
Luckily, they managed to swim to the nearest shore. From there, exhausted by the effort, they watched sadly as the ship disappeared forever under the deep, dark ocean.
Legend has it that, even today, the magic mill continues to grind the salt inside the sunken wreckage of the ship and that is why all the world’s oceans and seas are salty.
