# Label Oddity **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 7, 2017, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803 "2017-12-07T17:38:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2017, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/21 "2017-12-09T19:07:28Z")
Wait…What? Himalayan Sea Salt? What sea in the Himalayas is it from? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2017, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/22 "2017-12-09T19:25:09Z")
> [@CelticKnot](#): > > Wait…What? Himalayan Sea Salt? What sea in the Himalayas is it from? I assume [Tethys](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tethys_Ocean). But it could be [Panthalassa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panthalassa). ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2017, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/23 "2017-12-09T19:53:36Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Horrible kerning (or lack thereof) on that label. I wouldn’t buy it. First, I got this from [a link](https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/sea-salt/faq-20058512) about sea salt: “Table salt is more heavily processed to eliminate minerals and usually contains an additive to prevent clumping. Most table salt also has added iodine, an essential nutrient that helps maintain a healthy thyroid.” Now: **SHUT UP about the kerning!** Innocent people will look it up to find out what it is. I used to be one of those innocents and now I see it everywhere. Someone (you?) posted it on this board years ago and life has never been the same. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2017, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/24 "2017-12-09T21:40:11Z")
Kerning Kerning Kerning! Just like summoning Beetlejuice it all started here: [xkcd: Kerning](https://www.xkcd.com/1015/)😃 ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2017, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/25 "2017-12-09T22:17:15Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Horrible kerning (or lack thereof) on that label. I wouldn’t buy it. Thanks for pointing it out! I love a good kern spotting! Which part bothers you the most, all I spot is the “LT” in salt. I’m kinda new at this, what a great sport. Or should I say, “What a grea t sport”. Dennis ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2017, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/26 "2017-12-09T22:20:29Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > They didn’t claim it was the purest salt in the world. They only said it was “…referred to as the purest salt in the world”. You can use that kind of gimmick on anything. I just think it’s the kind of vague claim that doesn’t fall foul of any regulations, it’s not that the circumlocution saves it. You can’t generally get away with false claims that violate regulations simply by couching them in weasel words like “referred to as…”. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2017, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/27 "2017-12-09T22:43:03Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I pay extra for organic salt. You’ll probably want to avoid Morton’s as well. Their salt is kept in pens in Utah for months at a time, totally not free range. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2017, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/28 "2017-12-09T22:45:33Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > …Their salt is kept in pens in Utah for months at a time… “Best Before 12/09/1000002017” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2017, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803/29 "2017-12-09T22:53:30Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > Thanks for pointing it out! I love a good kern spotting! Which part bothers you the most, all I spot is the “LT” in salt. I’m kinda new at this, what a great sport. Or should I say, “What a grea t sport”. > > Dennis The AYA in Himalayan is too wide. Ultimately kerning is about spacing the letters so the total white space between one and the next is similar. What they did there is monospace, where each letter is a different width, but each is treated as its enclosing rectangle and the rectangles are each placed a fixed small distance _X_ apart. Compare HIM with AYA. The distance between the borders of the H, I, and M are easy to measure by eye. And consistent. If you draw a vertical up from the bottom corners of the As and down from the upper corners of the Y you’ll see that same spacing as between HIM. But because A & Y taper in opposite directions, there’s a lot more whitespace overall between them. To fix it, AYA should be scrunched together a bit and HIM should be spread out a bit. Once you have the rule, you’ll quickly spot the rest of the issues. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/label-oddity/803803.md?page=1)