This is a funny story that has passed through my family. It happened before the time of telephone and internet.

My family lived in a village by the sea in northeast China. One of my ancestors married a woman from a remote mountain village of southwest China. At the time it was customary for the bride’s family to give a dowry gift to the groom’s family, usually something valuable such as jewelry or bedclothes. After the wedding, the groom opened the finely decorated wooden box that they received (in China, gifts are usually opened after the party has ended).

Inside the box was two large chunks of salt (Every time someone tells the story at a family gathering, they gesture as if holding two invisible grapefruits :D).

The groom was very confused and asked the bride about it. The bride explained how valuable the salt was. It turned out that in the landlocked mountainous region where she came from, salt was rare and valuable, fit for a wedding gift. John Larase's answer to Is there such thing as "Lost Technology," or is that a myth?

So the groom laughed and took the bride to visit the salt harvesting ponds…and enjoyed the look on her face!

It’s a mistake that could not be made in the time of today’s technology.