I wanted these so bad, wish I had read the reviews first. 'The holes in the top make this product unusable. I can't believe a company like RAE DUNN would think this product would be ok for people. The only thing you could possibly use it for would be a very course sale and whole peppercorns. On the plus side they are so cute and I love the look, they are huge though, coffee mug size no exaggeration, but after consideration I had to return because they are just not practical. I don't need a $40 shelf decoration. I will order the smaller size just because I like the look so much and by reading the reviews I know they are going to be considerably smaller then these but most salt and pepper shakers are not coffee mug size anyway so I think I'll like them much better.