They say there were commonly three shakers on the average table in the 19th and very early 20th century: salt, pepper, and something else (?). Whatever the thir

They say there were commonly three shakers on the average table in the 19th and very early 20th century: salt, pepper, and something else (?). Whatever the third one was we culturally do not remember, it's a fascinating bit of collective amnesia. It was something common enough to be on every table right next to salt and pepper and also so common to not even be worth writing about, just some everyday spice. Most theories I've read say this lost shaker most likely was ground mustard. This theory suggests we didn't actually collectively lose a condiment, it just changed its most common form from being a shaker like salt/pepper to a "sauce" condiment in a jar or squeeze bottle, which is also why we collectively decided to not bother writing about the change. If true, it's another fascinating reminder of how common mustard has been in our history, so common it wasn't even worth mentioning how common it was when it was sitting right next to our salt and pepper shakers the whole time.