Query: why "salt and pepper" but not "pepper and salt"?

[Cohen, Gerald Leonard]

The differing order of the names in the message below is explainable by who belongs to which family.  Holly's family will put her first ("Holly 'n' Fritz"), while Fritz's family will put him first ("Fritz 'n' Holly").  I noticed this phenomenon long ago, when I realized that all my cousins who got married were referred to first within my family--very possibly without the speakers even being aware of this.
So, for example, "Sheldon and Leona" (Sheldon is my cousin).

Gerald Cohen

> ----------
> From:         American Dialect Society on behalf of FRITZ JUENGLING
> Sent:         Thursday, May 19, 2005 5:51 PM
> Subject:           Re: Query: why "salt and pepper" but not "pepper and salt"?
>
> To what degree does stress play a role in such things?  My in-laws call my wife and me "Holly 'n' Fritz".  My folks call us "Fritz 'n' Holly".  I think the latter is much easier to say, but the in-laws don't go for it.  Maybe they just have too much stress in their lives already.
> Fritz
>