In article <ROWE.95Nov30102...@sga.excc.exeter.ac.uk> r...@excc.exeter.ac.uk (John Rowe) writes:
>Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
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>From: r...@excc.exeter.ac.uk (John Rowe)
>Subject: Re: Help settle the salt and pepper shaker debate!!
>In-Reply-To: shede...@vix.com's message of 29 Nov 1995 00:03:53 -0800
>Message-ID: <ROWE.95Nov30102...@sga.excc.exeter.ac.uk>
>Sender: n...@exeter.ac.uk (news admin)
>Organization: Physics Dept. - University of Exeter. UK
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>        <49gjnk$...@sundog.tiac.net> <49guoo$2...@usenetw1.news.prodigy.com>
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>Date: Thu, 30 Nov 1995 10:29:54 GMT
>Lines: 21
>   *It depends on what side of the Atlantic you live on.
>   *
>   *In the US....more holes is salt.
>   *In England....more holes is pepper (salt is usually just one).
>   *
>   *Don't know why.

>That's easy - it's because we're smarter :-)

> a) Grains of salt are relatively large and hydroscopic (which makes
>them stick together).
> b) Particles of ground pepper are relatively small.

>So salt shakers typically have one large hole to let the salt out,
>pepper shakers many small holes to spread the pepper evenly. Otherwise
>you get no salt and a solid trail of pepper - yuk!

>This isn't exactly considered rocket science over here...

>John (who of course doesn't have a pepper shaker but knows people who
>do)