According to legend, Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon traveled half the world looking for the Fountain of Youth. Little would he expect that such a thing may actually be gushing from a small green-tiled fountain on the sidewalk in a little town in Florida.

But before you rush to get a drink from the Fountain of Youth, you should know that the water is radioactive:

In Punta Gorda, a town on Charlotte Harbor, a blocky, green-tiled fountain abuts an empty lot near the harbor. A spigot juts out near the top to release water from the artesian well below. Each of the four sides features a picture of a ship, a tribute to Ponce de Leon.

On the side facing away from the street, a public health notice warns that the water "exceeds the maximum contaminant level for radioactivity."

The water from the well is also heavy in sulfates, which give it a distinctive smell of rotten eggs. This hasn't stopped the locals from drinking from it regularly.

"I drank out of that well every day," said Gussie Baker, a resident of Punta Gorda for all of her 78 years.

Jackie Snow of National Geographic has the fascinating story: Link

Image: Irish Welcome Tours/Flickr

Over the years, Neatorama's own Jill Harness has collected photos of the world's most beautiful libraries. This one above is the Trinity College Library in Dublin, Ireland:

Aside from being absolutely gorgeous, with two story dark wooden arches, this is also the largest library in all of Ireland. It serves as the country’s copyright library, where a copy of all new books and periodicals must be sent when they apply for copyright protection. The library is also home to the famous Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript created by Celtic monks around the year 800.

Jill has compiled the list of 61 other amazingly beautiful libraries over at mental_floss. See if your favorite library is listed: Link

After an outcry of protest that the banknotes of the British currency are mostly filled with faces of men, the Bank of England is going to release a new £10 note featuring Jane Austen:

Jane Austen certainly merits a place in the select group of historical figures to appear on our banknotes. Her novels have an enduring and universal appeal and she is recognised as one of the greatest writers in English literature," [Mark Carney] the new governor said.

Pound and Prejudice, it seems: Link

Finding a job is tough in today's economy. And if sending hundreds of resumes don't work, what's a job seeker to do? How about putting oneself on display? Hey, if it works for prostitutes in Amsterdam's red-light district, why not this?

After pounding the pavement for two years in some cases, highly trained professionals—ranging from lawyers to former CEOs to tax experts—are standing in line to get a seat in the "exhibit."

"I'm willing to try anything," said Hannibal Camel Holt, an unemployed political scientist, as he took his place in the window one afternoon. Armed with a laptop computer and wearing a dark blue button-down shirt, Mr. Holt has been "kicking doors in and chasing leads," as he puts it, on and off for four years, striking out despite qualifications that include speaking six languages. For him, sitting-in represented a necessary, albeit awkward step.

"I feel like a monkey…in a cage as people walk by and just stare at me," the former tax ministry employee said as he sat behind a desk and occasionally glanced at passersby. After he had recently missed out on a job that had attracted 265 applicants, he realized that "there comes a point when your CV is, like, dead." A résumé, in other words, doesn't necessarily do the trick.

John D. Stoll of The Wall Street Journal has the story: Link (Photo: Carsten Loland/Reputation Copenhagen) - via Oddity Central

This is what happens when Disco the parakeet (previously on Neatorama) tries to say "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition" from Monty Python's Flying Circus. Nobody expects a cheeseburger!

As you probably already know, Prince William and Kate Middleton had a new baby and the world is gripped with Royal Baby mania. While we're slightly disappointed that they didn't choose to have an Internet contest to name the baby boy (a wise decision, no doubt), we're also a bit miffed that they haven't come up with the name already. Didn't they have 9 months to figure this out? How hard could it be?

Well, just in case they need a little bit of help, what do you commoners think the Royal Baby should be named?

Custom action figure maker Sillof (previously on Neatorama) has a neat new line, titled Road Wars, inspired by the classic film The Road Warrior. Like his previous line Faster, Empire! Strike! Strike!, this one was commissioned by comedian Patton Oswalt.

Setting:  In the arid lawless post apocalyptic wasteland wild bands of outlaws and bandits runs wild trying to squeeze every last drop of fuel from the last remaining settlements that have banded together to try and eke out an existence.

Take a look at the photos and detailed descriptions of the action figures: Link - Thanks Sillof!

It's the gateaway triathlon: 23-year-old Illinois man named Brion Adam Kriss ran, rode a bike, and swam in the ocean to flee the police.

Kriss was suspect of having a large knife which he had displayed during a prior incident in Delaware. He lost control of his car and crashed into a utility pole in the area of Jamestown Road on Coastal Highway. Due to the crash, one person had to be rushed to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police said.

Kriss then ran away, stole a bicycle and then dived into a marsh. He assaulted several Police Officers as they tried to arrest him. 

For all of his troubles, Kriss got tasered, sicced by a police dog, and fired on by rubber bullets. Oh, and instead of a medal, he won (or technically, he lost the triathlon) handcuffs and incarceration: Link

Bruce Lee, painted with milk (Be milk, my friend?)

Forget pen and paper - French artist Vivi Mac speed paints using food and wicked wit to create some of the most iconic images of famous historical figures, celebrities, and fictional characters. Take a look:

Jack Sparrow, painted with rum

Timbaland, painted with thyme (Thymbaland?)

Soccer player Thierry Henry, painted with rice

Perfect with some fava beans and a nice chianti. Wait. Wrong serial killer, but close enough.

The talented Annabel de Vetten of Conjurer's Kitchen created this gruesomely awesome "skin suit" cake, inspired by the serial killer Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs. It's made from vanilla cake, dark chocolate ganache, black cherry filling and pure horror.

Link - Thanks Emma!

Coffee with Maddie, Atlanta, GA

Yawn! I felt the same way this morning, Maddie.

We've featured Theron Humphrey and his rescue dog Maddie the Coonhound on Neatorama a while ago, but there are tons of new and very neat photographs (they've even got a new book Maddie on Things: A Super Serious Project About Dogs and Physics and a book tour to boot!)

So go forth and check out Maddie's Tumblr, Maddie on Things ... after the coffee kicks in.

Just kidding. It's actually the chrysalis of the Orange-spotted tiger clearwing (Mechanitis polymnia), as spotted by rubens.luciano on Project Noah: Link

When bad smells from flatulent demons were ruining his business, who Romanian lawyer Madalin Ciculescu gonna call? The ghostbusters - his local Orthodox bishop and priests - to do an exorcism, of course!

And when THAT inconceivably failed, Ciculescu decided to bring the matter to a higher authority:

A Romanian lawyer is suing his local Orthodox bishop and four priests claiming they failed to properly exorcise flatulent demons that were forcing him out of his home.  [...] The case alleging 'religious malpractice' is reportedly the first time there has been such an allegation made in a Romanian court.

He told the court: 'If they (the accused) represent the way of God then God's ways are crooked. They did not remove the demons that made these bad smells as they promised to do, and I still see all sorts of demons in the form of animals, usually crows but also other such things, that are making my life miserable.

'When I am at home they switch the TV on and off all the time, they make foul smells that give me headaches and basically roam unhindered around my house and my business.'

The man produced his mother to back up his claim saying that even the hair-dryer was possessed and a black shadow came out of it when anyone tried to use it - and she also said the fridge was infested by the flatulent demons that she confirmed left foul smells about the property.

Link

The cuteness, it burns! Quick, wallow in the mud to make yourself feel better. Watch as weeks-old Baby Anna, a 155-lb Southern White Rhino learns to wallow in the mud at Lion County Safari in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Hit play or go to Link [YouTube] - via Bits & Pieces

You ... will ... buy ... the ... latest ... Apple ... products ...

Tom Beddard of subblue (previously on Neatorama) explains how to create your own Droste effect with a filter for After Effects and Photoshop CS4: Link