Salt Lamps

Here is another "alternative lighting" thing I have — salt lamps! I have three salt lamps, which are made from pink salt which was mined in the Himalayan Mountains. They were given to me as a gift, twelvish years ago, by my sister-in-law (my late-husband's sister) @doana in thanks for something I did for her.

My lamps are roughly the size of bowling balls, but I've seen smaller ones for sale in some shops. The bottom of the rock was hollowed-out to accomodate a socket for a 5-watt "night light" bulb, and mounted on a sturdy, wooden base.

Each lamp is, indeed, an actual hunk of salt. I imagine that the folks who attended Steemfest-3 might have seen hunks of salt similar to these at the Wieliczka Salt Mine. The light shining through the salt looks pretty and each lamp is unique, with different patterns. All of the lamps have a pinkish-orangish color in natural lighting, but can appear pink, yellow, or orange when lit from within, depending on the density, thickness, and any impurities which might be present within the rock.

The lamps purportedly ionize the air to purify it in a natural manner. There might be something to this claim, or perhaps not. Regardless, though, the lamps provide a lovely ambiance to any home. I have moved these with me to three different residences thus far, and they always make the place look cozy and warm.

Even when turned-off, they're an attractive piece of décor, as seen in this shot of the lamp at the top of this post, but with the light turned off:

WARNING: Wash your hands thoroughly after handling salt lamps, especially before placing your fingers near your eye! A bit of residual salt will be there, even with a quick rinse, and it can sting very badly. And yes, that is the voice of experience talking, as I did a very quick "rinse" of my hands and mistakenly thought the salt was dispatched. Later, I discovered otherwise. 😬 Now I use lots of warm, soapy water and do a thorough job of it before resuming everyday life after changing a burned-out bulb or moving a lamp.