The social blending of cultures.

the large clay pot in which a batch is melted. IGCB

Metal, graphite-clay, or ceramic vessel in which metal is melted.

the blending of various nationalities who have come as immigrants into a homogenous identity.

The melting pot is a metaphor for the way in which societies develop, in which the ingredients in the pot (people of different cultures and religions) are combined so as to lose their discrete identities to some degree, yielding a final product which has a more uniform consistency and flavor, and which is quite different from the original inputs. The term gained popularity in describing ethnicity in the United States after the metaphor was used in the 1908 play of the same name that modernized Romeo and Juliet http://www.pbs.org/destinationamerica/usim_qz1b.html where the protaginist declared "Understand that America is God's Crucible, the great Melting-Pot where all the races of Europe are melting and reforming! A fig for your feuds and vendettas!

Melting Pot is a greatest hits collection by the British band The Charlatans (known in the United States as The Charlatans UK). Featuring tracks from their time on Beggars Banquet Records between 1990 and 1997 the album was released on February 23,1999. The cover features a picture of The Weaverdale cafe in Northwich, the site of the group's first meeting after signing to Beggars in 1990.