I think it’s worth noting that “Salt & Pepper” is not necessarily a worldwide phenomenon. In many countries in the middle east, there’s a shaker of Zahtar on the table. But why pepper here in the West?
Also, here’s a weird, nonsensical riddle from the Wikipedia article:
I am black on the outside, clad in a wrinkled cover,
Yet within I bear a burning marrow.
I season delicacies, the banquets of kings, and the luxuries of the table,
Both the sauces and the tenderized meats of the kitchen.
But you will find in me no quality of any worth,
Unless your bowels have been rattled by my gleaming marrow.