Short answers, pulled from the story.
The turnip was first domesticated in Central Asia several thousand years ago. Genetic studies showing Central Asian varieties have the greatest diversity, combined with ancient literary references and the presence of words for "turnip" in ancestral regional languages, support Central Asia as the origin of domesticated Brassica rapa subsp. rapa.
The Talmud declares, "Woe to the house in which the turnip passes," reflecting the turnip's association with poverty in Jewish antiquity. Rabbinic sources also record that turnips were eaten fresh, boiled, or ground, and that cooking them with meat improved their flavor.
Charles Townshend was an English landowner who, around 1700, promoted the use of turnips in a four-year crop-rotation system. His system enabled year-round livestock feeding, reducing the need to slaughter animals each autumn. His advocacy earned him the nickname "Turnip" Townshend.
Pot likker is the broth produced by boiling turnip greens with salt pork, a common southern cooking method in Antebellum America. It was traditionally served with crumbled corn pone. Turnip greens were a frontier staple because they could be ready to eat within a few weeks of planting.
Turnips reached Japan by 700 CE. The vegetable spread from its Central Asian origin to Europe and East Asia, with farmers in both regions later selecting for larger leaves.
Krautinger is a schnaps produced by farmers in the Austrian region of Wildschönau, made from a local variety of Brassica rapa subsp. rapa. The right to produce it was granted by Empress Maria Theresia in the 18th century. It is noted for its distinct taste and smell.