Kenji: And once that food is broken down into teeny tiny little bits? Without salt, we wouldn't be able to get that stuff in and out of our cells in the first place!

Sodium ions even form the backbone of our nervous system. Without salt, your fingers couldn't feel. Your tongue couldn't taste. Your ears couldn't hear, and your nose couldn't smell! Of course, you wouldn't even notice because without salt… your brain can't think!

Without salt, the human body could. Not. Function. Full stop. Buh-bye humans! And the same goes for other animals, too.

In the wild, animals seek out salt. They travel for MILES looking for natural mineral deposits, called salt licks.

Biology aside, salt has got your back. We use it to melt snow and ice and keep roads safe in the winter.

For crops, salt can be used to maintain the acidity of the soil⏤so we can grow fruits and vegetables!

But let me just blow your mind with this fact:

SALT WAS THE KEY TO HUMAN CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT!

The history of salt goes something like this: animals created paths to salt licks… and humans followed them. Then, trails became roads. We built homes by those roads, then towns, then cities, and pretty soon CIVILIZATIONS and CULTURES developed. Humans went... where the salt was.

Soon, salt became SO valuable that it was even traded—everywhere! Even for gold! And in ancient Rome, salt was even used as MONEY! !

With SALT, you could preserve food. Which was a big deal back then! People didn't have fridges and were constantly worried about their food spoiling. With salt, they didn't have to. Salt acts as a guard for your food, keeping bad bacteria from growing on it, and keeping it good to eat for longer periods of time. Salt is why pickles and beef jerky can sit around for months or even years, sometimes getting even more delicious as they sit!

Now, when it comes to food ⏤ I've been a cook for over 20 years, and I‘m confident of one thing. Next to every cook's station, ALL across the world, there's a container of salt. It's THAT essential to cooking!

Salt SUPERCHARGES your food. It allows us to perceive flavors better, and even smell better. And I'm not just exaggerating. There have been studies on this!

You see, we perceive taste through our tongues... AND our noses.

Salt works to release aromas, which allows us to smell and taste whatever we're eating even BETTER.

The next time you're softening some onions, take a whiff before adding any salt. Then smell again, a few seconds after you add salt.. The difference? Huge. With salt, you'll be able to taste the sweetness of the onions, just by smelling them!

Salt can make your food taste sweeter too. Ever wonder why people put salt — NOT sugar — on their watermelon?

The way it works is that salt naturally dials up sweet flavors⏤ while suppressing bitter ones. Salt is like headphones for your watermelon, letting you turn up the volume on your favorite sweet song while tuning out any distractions. Salt turns UP the entire flavor of a food.

And when combined with all of the OTHER cool things salt does ⏤ and how necessary it is for life itself — well, I'd wager to say that salt can do it ALL, in a pinch.

Molly: A mouth-watering declaration for salt. Kailynn, what do you think of that? What stood out to you?

Kailynn: Once again, I already know it's going to be a tough one because he named some of my favorite foods. French fries, potato chips, and salt on cookies makes them 10 times better but I also learned some things like that salt is essential for life. Your brain can't work without salt and that it was the key to civilization.

Molly: This is a tough one but Nik, I know you are itching to deliver a sweet but cutting rebuttal. You've got 30 seconds to dissect Kenji's case and your time starts now.

Nik: What am I going to say? Without sugar, you can't have DNA. If you don't have DNA, you can't have the proteins that make up your taste buds to help you taste salt and absorb salt from your food, and in order for those taste receptor buds to work, they actually have sugar attached to them to appreciate the taste of salt so sugar is essential. RNA, the first nucleic acid which a lot of scientists believe to be the first-

Molly: And time. I really want to know what you're going to say.

(laughter)

Molly: Kailynn, you have two points to award this round. One for the best rebuttal and one for the best declaration. Think about which side won you over. Who made the most persuasive arguments, who wowed you, who made you laugh. One point could go to each person or one person could get both the points. Totally up to you. Let us know when you've made your call.

Kailynn: Okay. I'm done.

Molly: Okay. Listeners at home, if you need more time, you can always press pause while you think. Nik, Kenji, how are you feeling about your chances?

Kenji: I'm feeling pretty good. I think deep down, Nik probably agrees with me. He's making some good strong arguments here.

Nik: I'm feeling pretty good too. We'll see how this plays out.

Molly: We're going to take a breather so go grab a sweet treat or a salty snack if you need one.

Kailynn: But don't go too far because we'll be right back with more Smash Boom Best.

Todd: Todd Douglas here, with 903-time debate champion, Taylor Lincoln!

Taylor: Toddy, what sound do you think a unicorn makes?

Todd: You mean, what sound would a unicorn make if a unicorn were real?

Taylor: Hey now! We don't need to rehash the great “what do aliens smell like?” debate of 2017!

Todd: Alright, alright.

Taylor: I just have unicorns on the brain, because of this debate I caught between two friends having a picnic in the park. Roll tape!

Peter: Ok, so I've been thinking about your question and I think I finally have an answer.

Tabitha: Oh yeah?

Peter: Yes, my number one goal in life is (dramatic pause) to meet a unicorn!

Tabitha: Say what now?

Peter: Yes, I absolutely will meet a unicorn one day!

Tabitha: Peter, unicorns aren't real.

Peter: How dare you, Tabitha? No one has ever been able to prove that unicorns aren't real!

Tabitha: And no one has ever been able to prove that they are real!

Todd: Holy one-horned cow!

Taylor: Horse.

Todd: That was a double fallacy fail! I haven't seen one of those in ages.

Taylor: That's right, both Tabitha and Peter used a logical fallacy called Appeal to Ignorance.

Todd: Logical fallacies are debate no-nos because they make your arguments weak. Appeals to Ignorance are when you use a lack of proof as a point in your favor.

Taylor: And as you just heard, appeals to Ignorance can be used by opposing sides in the exact same way. If no one has any evidence to support their claims... no one is leaving this debate a winner!

Todd: To win a debate, you have to bring actual facts and sound logic!

Taylor: But no one has ever said aliens don't smell like strawberries...

Todd: We are not doing this again, Taylor….

Taylor: Well, in that case, we'll catch you next time, debate-heads! On...

Todd/Taylor: State of Debate!

Molly: You're listening to Smash Boom Best, the show about showdowns. We love to debate ideas you send our way like this one from Odin.

Auden: My debate idea is heart versus brain.

Molly: We'll check in again with Auden at the end of the show to see who he thinks should win. Now it's time to get back to this fearsome foody face-off. Debaters are you fueled up and ready to rock?

Kenji: I am ready to rock.

Nik: Oh, yeah. I'm ready.

Molly: Excellent, and it's time for the--

Speaker 1: Micro-round.

Molly: Your micro-round challenge is Seussian Stylings. Both debaters will present poems in the style of Dr. Seuss, starring their side. Nik, you went first last time so Kenji, you're up. Let's hear those salty poetic chops.

Kenji: Okay, this is called Salty Ode.

It's clear that salt is simply better

Without salt, life would wither and die.

It regulates crucial body functions, plus!

Nobody wants to eat a plain French fry.

For what is a chip without salt,

But a boring old potato?

With salt you can make flavor POP

Just ask your average tomato