the.com/saltpeter
The chemical that both wins wars and, legend says, kills your libido in them.
means A naturally occurring salt (potassium nitrate) used to make gunpowder, cure meat, and preserve food.
from From medieval Latin 'sal petrae' — literally 'salt of rock' or 'salt of stone' — because the crystals were found crusting on rocks, cave walls, and old masonry (often where nitrogen-rich organic waste had seeped into stone or soil). It traveled into English via French 'salpêtre' and kept that two-part shape: salt + stone.
- real name
- potassium nitrate, gunpowder's oxygen supplier
- army myth
- rumored anti-libido mess hall additive, never actually true
- food use
- cures bacon, makes hot dogs pink
- historic role
- fueled gunpowder for 1000 years of warfare