It’s one of the great culinary pairings of all time. There’s tomato and basil. Bacon and eggs. Pizza and beer.

And then there are two condiments that bring out the flavors in all of these and more: Salt and pepper, found together in shakers at nearly every table you see.

Once, only for the rich…

It wasn’t until the 17th century that salt and pepper found their respective mate at the kitchen table. Before that, salt was kept in a small bowl called a salt cellar and used with a small spoon. Native to India, black peppercorns were usually ground up in grinders at the table. Both seasonings were expensive to import before the 1600s, so the consumption of both was considered to be a symbol of wealth, especially in Europe, where they became more popular with time. Asian countries, meanwhile, used their own condiments to generate salty and peppery flavors – namely, soy sauce and crushed red pepper (Interestingly enough, Vietnam is the world’s top producer of black pepper today). We have a French chef, Francois Pierre LaVarenne, royal chef to King Louis XIV, to thank for first thinking to pair salt and pepper (the king had a reputation as a picky eater, and LaVarenne found that adding salt and pepper to his food made those dishes acceptable to the monarch).

“The pairing was a smash hit because pepper was the only spice that complemented salt and didn’t dominate the taste,” according to a 2021 article on All Recipes’ website.

…Now for all

Salt and pepper prices dropped dramatically during the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century as the cost to ship the seasonings lowered. Now, the spices weren’t only for the rich and affluent – they became affordable for the everyday family.

Salt and pepper shakers themselves were invented during the Victorian era, created by the same inventor of the Mason Jar, American tinsmith John Mason. In 1858, he designed small jars with screw-top lids that featured holes in the top, so diners would be able to shake their seasonings right onto their food.

“Mason’s salt shaker was a container with a tin cap that had several holes punched through the top; however, his shaker was short-lived,” writes Lindsey Schier of The Des Moines County Historical Society. “Salt absorbs moisture and has a tendency to clump. This meant it did not flow freely out of the holes in Mason’s shaker.”

Even in those early years during the late 19th century and well into the 20th, salt and pepper shakers came in a variety of designs, making them highly collectible.

“In the 19th century, Staffordshire Potteries produced salt-and-pepper shakers as parts of cruet sets. Many of these were novelty characters with pink cheeks and big hats,” according to Collectors Weekly. “In the 1900s, with the advent of movies, shakers with character heads in the shapes of stars like Laurel and Hardy were popular—later, Staffordshire firms made more respectful sets bearing the stern images of famous cricket players either bowling or up to bat.”

Trinkets to buy when traveling

In the early 20th century, The Morton Salt Co. added magnesium carbonate, an anti-caking agent, to the salt they marketed and sold. This made the popular seasonings easily shakable.

“Morton’s addition led to the use of salt shakers, but they did not really take off in popularity until the 1920s for a reason you might not expect,” Schier writes. “The rise in the automobile played a role in the increased sales of salt shakers and made them collectible items. Travel, whether for work or leisure, increased with the introduction of the automobile. With this increase came a rise in the souvenir industry.”

Now, the small, colorful, ceramic items were even more collectible. Due to their size, they didn’t cost much to ship as well. Schier writes that during the 1920s and ‘30s, Japan produced the greatest number of units – until the Second World War, of course. After the end of the war, makers of salt and pepper shakers began to branch out from ceramics and make the collectibles from other materials.

Surprisingly enough, there are even uses for these trinkets beyond merely acting as vessels for these two common seasonings. They can act as miniature vases, seed dispensers, or even pin cushions.

Whatever your reason for collecting them or whatever your use, such collections show no signs of waning popularity.

“Some people are crazy about salt and pepper shakers,” notes the blog It’s All Our Vault. “I can sort of see why: they’re tiny and usually pretty inexpensive. They make great gifts to give and receive. And they come in a million sizes and shapes. You can collect these things for your entire life and still not have a complete collection.”

Americans will be looking to the sky next year as the second phase of NASA’s Artemis II program takes its first crewed test flight of the program’s Orion spacecraft. The program is designed to eventually land a crew on the Moon twice by 2029. The last crewed mission to the Moon was conducted in December 1972.

NASA’s return to the Moon after more than 50 years has led to a renewed interest in all things related to space – that awe-inspiring, vast expanse that holds immeasurable possibilities for humankind and has sparked questions about our place in the universe for millennia.

NASA itself – that’s the National Aeronautics and Space Administration — was established in 1958. Members of the Baby Boomer generation and even some early Generation Xers will remember President John F. Kennedy’s pledge in 1962 that Americans would eventually land on the Moon by the end of that decade. The president’s promise would become NASA’s crowning achievement on July 20, 1969, in an event watched by revelers across the globe. In the years both before and since, the genre of science fiction has inundated pop culture, from comics like “Flash Gordon” to beloved TV series and films such as “Star Wars” and “Star Trek.”

Turns out, NASA’s space travels are highly collectible, too, with some items from the institution’s history fetching hundreds to thousands at auction. These items currently listed on eBay, Etsy, and antique auction house websites are sure to amaze any space case or dreamer with their head in the clouds:

NASA Apollo-era SCAPE helmet

This helmet was designed for handling of toxic fuel, worn by those transporting dangerously volatile and corrosive fuel to and from the Kennedy Space Center. This helmet still has its “property of NASA” tag attached to the helmet’s interior. “SCAPE” stands for “Self-Contained Atmospheric Protection Ensemble.” The helmet is being sold on eBay for $2,500.

Also being sold on eBay for an affordable $98 is a collection of ephemera related to the space shuttle Enterprise, built in 1976 to conduct atmospheric test flights. A 1975 booklet describing the shuttle’s mission, its use/operation, and its limitations; another booklet containing diagrams and the ship’s specs is included, as is a third booklet outlining future projects and equipment testing plans. Although the craft originally was named Constitution, Trekkies likely are aware of a campaign in which hundreds of thousands of “Star Trek” fans asked U.S. President Gerald Ford to rename the ship after the popular space craft from the beloved television show. The campaign worked, with Ford asking NASA leadership to change the name. The cast of the original “Star Trek” TV show, along with creator Gene Roddenberry, were on hand during the rollout of the Enterprise in Palmdale, California, on Sept. 17, 1976.

A warning to collectors

Supposed samples of moon rocks can be found on auction sites everywhere. Encased in resin, they are proudly listed as being genuine, but they usually are sold for as little as $10. According to NASA, the Apollo missions collected more than 2,000 samples, some of which are on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Original samples collected during lunar missions are considered priceless. Moon rocks can be determined to be genuine through radiometric testing, and actual moon rocks are exceedingly rare; according to the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, those tiny pieces being hawked by eager merchants on auction sites are likely nothing more than fragments of petrified wood.

NASA’s own online shop reveals that demand for collectibles related to space is only growing. Currently, it lists several collectibles related to its Artemis I mission for sale, with Artemis II items sure not be coming up in the coming year. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov.

Clack! go the flippers as the ball is launched. Pop! go the bumpers as the metal ball weaves its way through obstacles. And then the bells – ding, ding, accompanied by the many flashes of light to signify your victory.

Close your eyes and you can see the lights and hear those sounds coming from the pinball machine in the old arcade, bar, or restaurant you used to visit every weekend — the place where you and your friends spent countless hours feeding the machine one quarter after another in the hopes of attaining bragging rights of becoming a pinball champion.

A cost-effective diversion

Though the game was invented in France in the late 18th century, the coin-operated pinball machines we know today were created during the Great Depression as a cheap form of entertainment for Americans who craved a diversion from the nation’s economic woes.

“It was a low-cost game that anyone could play and get some respite from the hardships of everyday life,” according to an article on Betson.com. Betson is a manufacturer and seller of arcade games.

In those early days, the game bore many names, such as Ballyhoo, Baffle Ball, and Bingo. Early companies that produced the machines included the Bingo Novelty Co. and D. Gottlieb & Co., According to Betson, by 1936, the name pinball had finally stuck.

The first electronic pinball machine hit the market in 1933, and the machines installed in public places quickly proved to be a draw. Players could win prizes for achieving the highest scores. But along with the skilled players also came the cheaters, who would pick up the table and shake it in order to affect the game’s outcome.

“To counteract this, the tilt mechanism was invented in 1935 by Harry Williams, the founder of the Williams Manu-facturing Co.,” the Betson.com article explains. “Today, pinball machines have two tilt devices: one for tilting side to side and one for ‘slam tilt,’ when a player bangs the machine with their hand.”

By the end of the decade, there were an estimated 145 pinball machine companies throughout the country; however, the sheer number of them created intense competition, and many were forced to shutter their doors due to market saturation.

And, like many industries of the time, production of pinball machines came to a halt with the outbreak of World War II in 1939 – those that remained in business by the end of the war six years later were indeed fortunate.

The Iowa Pinball Club celebrates its 20th anniversary in business this year.

Pinball lovers and seasoned players keep the game alive, too, with their participation in one of the many conventions and tournaments that take place each year. The largest is organized and sponsored by the International Flipper Pinball Association, which organizes events and competitions at the local, state, national, and international levels. According to the IFPA’s website, currently, the top two world pinball players are American, with Colorado’s Escher Lefkoff in second place (currently age 20, he occupied the top spot for years and has played pinball since the age of five). In first place is 19-year-old Jason Zahler of New Jersey, who has played since the age of 7, born nearly a century after the modern iteration of the game was invented. And, according to the IFPA’s calendar, Tulsa, OK, will be the site of several tournaments in 2024.

“These memories come flooding back”

Pinball’s popularity and ability to thrive in the age of video games boils down to one secret: memories.

“What is driving the boom? Much of it is nostalgia,” according to a May 2023 article on games.slashdot.org. “A generation raised on pinball in arcades in the 1980s and 1990s are now at an age where they have disposable income, and kids with whom they want to play the games they played as children.”

In Las Vegas, the Pinball Hall of Fame resides in a 27,000-square-foot building close to the iconic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign. The building, home to restored machines from the 1930s through the 1950s, is ground zero for that nostalgia, says owner Tim Arnold, quoted in a May 2021 article by Kerry Callahan on the PR website The Feast of Friends.

“(Visitors) walk past a machine that they’ve completely forgotten about,” Arnold said. “They see it again, and all these memories come flooding back. And they just lock up. They’ll sit there and point at the machine [and say], ‘So this is the machine I was playing the first time I kissed a girl,’” Arnold said. “We see that every day

Pinball players flock to KC for championship

Kansas City welcomed pinball players and enthusiasts alike in late January for the International Flipper Pinball Association’s Annual IFPA State Championship Series finale.

More than 1,000 players from across the U.S., in both men’s and women’s categories, descended on the 403 Club, the venue that hosted the event.

A Jan. 19 article on the website of KSHB 41 quotes the owner of the venue.

“When I tell people that we host the Kansas State Pinball Championship, they’re like, that’s such a thing?” said Artie Scholes, the owner of 403 Club. “Yes, it is.”

With players as young as 8 – Scholes’ son, Oliver — competing during the action, the event proved to be a draw for enthusiasts of all ages. 

For more information on this and other tournaments, visit www.ifpapinball.com.

For centuries, the birth of Jesus has been depicted by cultures and countries on nearly every continent.

In fact, 2023 marks 800 years since the very first nativity scene was created in a small village in Italy. According to the National Catholic Register, St. Francis of Assisi, one of the world’s most beloved saints, created the nativity scene in 1223, likely inspired by time he spent in Jerusalem between 1219 and 1220.

“Seeing the holy sites of Christ’s birth, life, death and resurrection made them feel all the more real,” according to a December 2022 article by Hannah Brockhaus, “and he wanted to recreate that experience.”

Since then, other cultures have followed suit, with each nativity scene bearing its own special details that make it unique from others.

A centuries-old art

Every nativity set’s basic components are the same – figurines of Joseph, the Christ child’s Earthly father; Mary, his mother; and the newborn Christ. Beyond that, most sets include other figures from the story of Jesus’ birth, such as the three wise men bearing their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh; barnyard animals (though none are mentioned in the Bible, one can assume some were present); and an angel only referred to in the Bible as “an angel of the Lord.” These figurines may be standing in a space designed to act as the manger in which Jesus was born.

One prominent vendor that has sold handmade nativity sets for nearly three decades is Pennsylvania-based Yonder Star (www.yonderstar.com). The merchant sells a variety of sets in many different styles, from cherry wood sets to those made of aluminum, from those smaller sets one can display in their home to larger outdoor sets that can be viewed by passersby.

The tradition of live nativity scenes, in which participants pose as Joseph, Mary, and the wise men, has existed in churches for decades and been a draw for houses of worship throughout the country.

Collecting for a cause

Though nonprofit organizations and fair-trade businesses are known to sell nativities made in developing countries, one family is doing their part to support the artists who craft these pieces as well. In Utah, the Hyde family collects Nativity sets made in African, Asian, and Latin American countries. They sell some of the Nativities on their website, www.worldnativity.com.

“While contemplating what we could do as a family project to teach our children about charity and serving others, we had a very inspired thought,” Garrick and Ginger Hyde explain on the website. “We started buying Nativity scenes from artisans in developing countries as a means of helping the artisans generate income in a way that preserved their dignity. We thought we might buy a few Nativities, but now we have many.”

What started as a small project quickly grew into a business designed to help lift up those artisans, with the Hyde family selling Nativity scenes on their site.

“Along the way, we started buying extra Nativities from artisans around the world,” Garrick and Ginger write. “We sold the extras to our interested friends. We thought it would be a small project, but the response has been so high that we have sold more than 10,000 nativities from hundreds of artisans since 2005. Profits are given 100 percent to humanitarian ​causes and micro-credit projects in developing countries that benefit children and low-income adults. … The lives of these artisans are dramatically improved from the additional income.”

The true meaning of Christmas

Such a story embodies the meaning of the season – helping your fellow man by engaging in charitable acts and thus becoming closer to God.

“The Nativity scene has always captivated people around the world,” explains the Franco family, another Italian merchant that specializes in Nativity sets. “Jesus was born by a simple woman and as son of a poor family. The poverty and the natural birth of God’s son enabled people to feel that he was one of them. They could identify with him.”

And according to Wellspring Christian Ministries, no matter the country in which a Nativity set is made, no matter their differences, the meaning behind each of these works of art is the same.

“In spite of the discrepancies depicted in most nativities and the Biblical account, the most important thing about a nativity is its message to the world,” the site states. “Because our sin requires a perfect sacrifice before a holy and just God, our Heavenly Father sent His own Son to earth as a man so that He could become that sacrifice.