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Edinburgh Castle crowned best UK castle for fairytale proposals

Edinburgh Castle crowned best UK castle for fairytale proposals

Daily Record4 hours ago

A new study has ranked the top places for a perfect proposal, with three Scottish castle making the top 10 in the UK
A legendary Scottish castle has been ranked as the the most perfect castle across the UK for a dreamy proposal. Edinburgh Castle has been crowned the most picturesque spot to pop the question.
The capital landmark has been dubbed the ultimate castle setting for a fairytale proposal in new research by OBJKTS Jewelry.

Analysing hashtag data from Instagram and TikTok, the study ranked 100 of the UK's most beloved castles by popularity across social media.

Edinburgh Castle claimed the top spot with over 804,000 hashtags, praised for its dramatic skyline views and centuries-old charm. and blowing its rivals out of the water.
Perched on a volcanic plug and dominating the skyline of the Scottish capital, the castle has long held a special place in the hearts of visitors.
The historic site features the 12th-century St Margaret's Chapel, the grand Great Hall built by James IV, the imposing Half Moon Battery added in the 16th century, and the Scottish National War Memorial, built after the First World War.
Today, it houses the Honours of Scotland, the Crown Jewels, as well as the iconic 15th-century Mons Meg cannon - the daily One O'Clock Gun - and the National War Museum of Scotland.
Unsurprisingly, its popularity as a proposal spot continues to soar. Last year, an engagement filmed in front of the castle went viral on social media, drawing thousands of likes and heartfelt congratulations from viewers.

Two more Scottish castles secured places in the top ten. Eilean Donan Castle came seventh, with 118,973 hashtags, while Stirling Castle ranked ninth, gathering 103,246.
Eilean Donan Castle, one of the most photographed landmarks in Scotland, sits on its own tiny island at the meeting point of three sea lochs, with the mountains of Kintail rising around it.

It's a Highland icon, immortalised on calendars and shortbread tins, and remains a firm favourite with visitors.
While marriage proposals on site require prior permission, the castle offers an exclusive package allowing private access to the grounds before public opening hours, giving couples a secluded and magical backdrop to pop the question.

Stirling Castle, meanwhile, is an essential piece of Scotland's royal heritage. Though its volcanic crag has been fortified since ancient times, the site reached its peak in the 1500s.
Lavishly renovated by James V, the Royal Palace, where Mary Queen of Scots spent her early years, reflects European Renaissance influences that once declared royal power and sophistication.
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Visitors can explore its grand halls and fortified enclosures, steeped in the stories of generations of Scottish monarchs.
Other romantic locations featured in the ranking include Windsor Castle in second place with 516,100 hashtags, praised for its regal elegance, and Cardiff Castle in fifth, which blends medieval walls with lush parkland and racked up 127,875 hashtags.
OBJKTS Jewelry described these top-ranking spots as "the most magical backdrops to pop the question," offering couples timeless and enchanting settings to mark one of life's most memorable moments.

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From social media success to opening a steakhouse that's a sensation in Buenos Aires
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From Chimpanzini Bananini to Ballerina Cappuccina: how gen alpha went wild for Italian brain rot animals
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timean hour ago

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From Chimpanzini Bananini to Ballerina Cappuccina: how gen alpha went wild for Italian brain rot animals

When one of Tim's year 8 pupils asked him about his 'favourite Italian brain rot animal', he thought he'd misheard. 'My hearing is not great at the best of times – I had to ask her to repeat this probably four or five times,' he says. Tim (not his real name) was familiar with the term 'brain rot', used to describe the sense of mental decline after too much time spent mindlessly scrolling online (and voted Oxford University Press's word of the year for 2024). But what was this about it being Italian? He told his pupil to get on with her work, sat down at his laptop – and immediately turned to Google. 'Italian brain rot', he discovered, refers to a series of absurdist animal characters, generated by artificial intelligence. They have ridiculous Italian-sounding names (like Bombombini Gusini and Trippi Troppi), and typically appear in videos on TikTok accompanied by fast-paced, AI-generated and Italian-ish (though also nonsensical) narration. It is, in short, a meme beloved by the emerging generation Alpha (born from 2010 to 2025) and the youngest members of gen Z (generally those born from 1997 to 2012). And if you are any older – even if you fancy yourself as highly online, or a meme connoisseur – it is all but certain to make very little sense to you, as Tim found out at his laptop. He shares his discoveries, sounding trepidatious. 'So there's Chimpanzini Bananini, which is a chimpanzee fused with a banana. Bombardiro Crocodilo, which is a crocodile fused with a bomber plane. There's one who's just a cappuccino with legs …' That's Ballerina Cappuccina: a female ballet dancer spliced with a cup of coffee, often depicted as being in a relationship with Cappuccino Assassino (you can figure it out). 'There's history – lore – behind all these animals,' continues Tim wonderingly. 'Like, some of them are at war with each other. And there are songs about them.' 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Don Caldwell, editor-in-chief of the site Know Your Meme, namechecks Brr Brr Patapim, 'a proboscis monkey that is also a tree', as one who made it to YouTube. There is also Indonesian brain rot, notably Tung Tung Tung Sahur ('which is like a stick figure with a bat, telling people to wake up for a meal during Ramadan') and Boneca Ambalabu ('a frog with a tyre for a body, and human legs'). Both are accompanied by an AI-generated voice speaking Indonesian that, like their Italian counterparts, seeks to confuse rather than convey meaning. 'The audio is at least as important, if not more important than the imagery,' says Caldwell. 'They'll be doing it really over-the-top, like 'Tra-la-lero! Tra-la-lala!' – it really goes for the whole Italian sound.' Is it offensive to Italians? 'It seems Italians have been all over this,' Caldwell says, 'so I don't think so.' Indeed, the appeal of Italian (and Indonesian) brain rot is not that it's offensive, or even subversive – but that it's so silly. 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He also now has an answer to that year 8 pupil's question. 'My favourite is Blueberrinni Octopussini,' he says, 'which is an octopus fused with a blueberry.' Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Women reveal the sexiest 'man magnet' perfumes that make men 'swarm'
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  • Daily Mail​

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