Aloe is a broadly used plant in cosmetics, medicine, food, and much more. Coupled with the fact that it is an easy-to-grow succulent, this makes it the ideal product to farm in warm places. Sitting at the foot of the Langeberg Mountain range, Albertinia known as the home of aloe. The plants are prolific here and the leaves are collected and drained...

The island of Enoshima is a popular tourist attraction near Kamakura, visited by tens of thousands of people daily. All visitors cross the bridge from Fujisawa-Katase, and most go straight into the Benzaiten shopping street, an approach to Enoshima Shrine, walking past the seaside North Green Park. There is not much to see in the park itself, apart...

Jack O'Legs was a mythical giant who, like Robin Hood, stole from the rich and gave to the poor. According to local legends, Jack lived in a cave in the woods, not far from the medieval town of Baldock. After raiding the stores of the rich bakers of nearby Baldock and giving the spoils to the poor folk of Weston one too many times, Jack was captured...

The village of Leadhills originated as a community of lead miners working in the ore fields of the Lowther Hills on the border of Lanarkshire and Dufries and Galloway in Scotland. The miners developed a desire for both self-improvement and mutual collective improvement. In response, a group of miners and the local schoolmaster founded a lending library in...

This article is adapted from the October 12, 2024, edition of Gastro Obscura’s Favorite Things newsletter. You can sign up here. In Guy Mannering, an 1815 Scottish novel by Sir Walter Scott, a mysterious fortune-teller named Meg Merrilies sings a charm of protection over the title character’s household. It begins with the names of four herbs: ...

Built in 1799, this structure basically consists of a tall, vertical oak frame fitted with a heavy steel blade with an oblique cutting edge and suspended from the top. It was designed for a rapid execution by decapitation of those who were condemned to death in the Swiss canton of Geneva during the French period. Today it is part of the Permanent Collection...