Salt FactsThe history of salt traces back to as far as 6050 BC The production and the transport of salt gave rise to new European cities and to the construction of roads as is the case of Salzburg"city of salt"and of the via Salaria (the road of salt) in Italy. The word salary derives from the Latin sal(t)? In Roman times, salt was such a valuable commodity that army soldiers were sometimes paid with salt instead of money. Thousands of Napoleon's troops died during his retreat from Moscow because their wounds would not heal due to the lack of salt. Our body needs about 100 grams of salt for every 40 kilos of weight. Salt is used to remove traces of water from aviation fuel after it is purified. According to recent scientific findings, many salt deposits were discovered on Mars.