Zillow Gone Wild introduces us to this lovely old firehouse that is now on the market for a large family that wants a lot of open space. It has four bedrooms and four bathrooms spread over 3,105 square feet.

Here's a scene from the Fairfield Branch of the Henrico Public Library system in Virginia. A 2022 issue of American Libraries (the flagship publication of the American Library Association) describes these clever computer stations created to help caregivers of young children tend to their computer needs while keeping their kids out of trouble.

Library Director Barbara Weedman saw the need for furniture like a child's computer station, but adult sized. Shannon Wray designed the desk, which debuted when this branch library opened in 2019. A mother with a child promptly sat down at this station, intuitively understanding what the playpen was for.

-via @WolfofX | Photo: Chris Cunningham

That win was because I was a row behind the popes seat pic.twitter.com/4JTS2PwkFK

— Julian (@Its_Apache) May 13, 2026

Pope Leo XIV, born as American citizen* Robert Francis Prevost, grew up in the Chicago area and therefore is a devoted fan of the White Sox baseball team--even performing the traditional chant while in full papal regalia.

In 2005, Prevost attended Game 1 of the World Series. He was recorded on camera doing so, thus we can know precisely which at Rate Field he sat in. The venue has marked the location.

-via Mallory Palmeri

*Whether he is now is apparently a fascinatingly complex legal question.

Ray Bradbury, a lifelong advocate for free speech, published his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 in 1953 out of material he had developed for a couple of years prior. It depicts a society in which books are illegal and "firemen" are not people who put out fires, but people who burn books. The novel was an enormous success at its outset and remains popular to this day.

That prompt success at publication led Bradbury to issue a 200-copy special edition made with asbestos covers--thus making them resistant to burning--and autographed.

Copies are quite rare. This one on eBay is priced at $45,000.

-via reddit

Redditor /u/tylerthecreativemode shares photos of a little free library in Berkeley, California. Most little free libraries are single boxes, often shaped like buildings. But this is an entire little free library system with multiple branches. I count eight boxes with books. Some redditors are dubbing it the Little Free Library of Congress or the Little Free Great Library of Alexandria.

The official LFL map shows numerous locations in Berkeley--apparently a city with a love for this community practice. The cozy, goblincore style is offers a welcoming ambiance. I'd love to visit.

Some ideas, such as Leonardo da Vinci's helicopter, are ahead of their time in that it would not be possible for da Vinci to construct a functional model. But what ideas are behind their time? This is to ask: which technologies could have arrived earlier because their prerequisites were already present?

Brian Potter, an engineer, asserts that the Wright brothers' flyer could have been constructed the late 1880s instead of 1903. The constituent technologies for the turbojet, which first appeared in 1937, were known in the 1920s.

Much depends on how one defines "plausible" and the risks that inventors are willing to take. Japanese physician Hanaoka Seishū (1760-1935) was the first surgeon in the world to use general anesthesia in 1804--four decades before it was used in the West--but blinded his wife and crippled his mother while trying to get the dosage right.

-via Marginal Revolution

Mike Matthews founded Grandma Stand in 2012 to honor is grandmother, Eileen Wilkinson, who had a lot of wisdom to share. He built an outdoor stand and set it up in public places in New York City. There, Grandma Eileen listened and chatted with passersby.

Grandma Eileen passed away in 2018 at 101 years old. Matthews took down the stand. But in 2024, he decided to re-establish the stand new new grandmas staffing it.

Matthews now has 20 volunteer grandmothers participating in New York City, as well as 20 other locations around the United States.

The Grandma Stand project is the subject of a new documentary that you can watch on PBS.

-via Kottke

Is there a talent or swimsuit competition? I'm not sure, but we know that the competition is stiff from a hard calcium carbonate shell.

CU Boulder Today, a publication of the University of Colorado at Boulder, reports that the Senckenberg Institutes in Germany holds an annual competition which declares one mollusc to be "the coolest."

There are over 86,000 identified species in the phylum Mollusca, but only one can claim this annual honor.

Among the top contenders is the moon clam (Ephippodonta lunata), which can be found off the coast of southwestern Australia. The moon clam was nominated by CU Boulder researchers, so the campus is abuzz with excitement that the moon clam has made it to the final five possible winners.

-via David Thompson | Photos: Western Australia Museum

Redditor /u/Candid-Acadia-2301 made these impressive dumplings that look just like goldfish. These beautiful treats are filled with minced chicken and molded by hand. They added orange food coloring to one batch of dough, then dotted white dough with that color so that, when rolled out, the visual effect is a mixture of orange and white.

Tusken Raiders in Tuscany, my acrylic painting pic.twitter.com/ooIWp1fjRF

— Travis Chapman (@Travispaints) May 8, 2026

Here at Neatorama, we love the works of Travis Chapman, a traditionally-trained painter who composes realistic images of pop culture. He usually plays with the source concepts as puns. Here, for example, are a pair of Tusken Raiders, a species from the Star Wars planet of Tatooine.

I've always referred to them as Sand People, but my teenagers say that's no longer acceptable terminology. They're just "Tuskens" (calling them raiders is derogatory).

Anyway, these Tuskens have acquired through their labors sufficient funding for a journey to sunny Tuscany on Earth, where they can sample the local wines.

Closer look at our Masters of the Universe merch coming soon to theatres! ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/FArmxHb5vd

— Cinemark Theatres (@Cinemark) May 8, 2026

Masters of the Universe, the latest film in the He-Man franchise, premiers on June 5.

Movie theaters have been getting creative lately in their efforts to draw people to brick-and-mortar theaters. We've seen them offer moviegoers inventive popcorn buckets, notably for Dune 2, Despicable Me 4, Gladiator 2, Jaws, and Mr. Fantastic.

Promoters for Masters of the Universe are going even further. Yes, there's a popcorn bucket. It's shaped like Castle Greyskull. But I'm enraptured by the 1:1 scale Sword of Power. Remove the hilt and you can fill the probably not-battle ready sword with soda.

-via Rob Province

The Takeout has compiled a list of 11 tiny eateries in these United States, including the famous Squeeze-In in Sunbury, Pennsylvania.

This hot dog joint has been in continous operation since 1945. You might want to order your dog for takeout because it measure sonly 8 by 16 feet. If you insist on dining indoors, you'll have to squeeze in next to other customers at the handful of stools available. You can browse the menu here.

After 81 years, the Squeeze In is a cherished local institution with a devoted local fan base.

Photo: The Sqeeze-In

Boxers and other hand-to-hand fighters sometimes get "cauliflower ear", which is referred, medically speaking, as "auricular hematoma." It's a deformity that results most commonly from getting punched in the ear.

So a guy with cauliflower ears looks like someone who's been in some hard fights and is ready for more. From a particular point of view, it contributes to an aesthetically appealing appearance.

Oddity Central reports that some men in Russia are getting cauliflower ears not the hard way, but through cosmetic surgery. When matched with a muscular physique and a confident demeanor, they convey an overall impression of physical dominance.

Perhaps women find this look attractive.

A rat king is an entanglement of rats by their tails. It refers to a rare but real phenomenon among rodents but also a symbol of social and political disorder as outlined by Lucas Reilly in Mental Floss.

In this case, it's a dumpling dish prepared by the girlfriend of redditor /u/Curious_Psychonaut.

The latest food hack going viral online is to combine potato chips and chocolate by pouring molten chocolate into cans of Pringles. After it cools, cut the cans off. Then slice the cylinders into chunks of salty chocolate potato chips about an inch think.

There are different ways to improve upon the concept, such as adding marshmallow to the mixture. But as a Southern boy, I know the right ingredient: pickled pigs' feet. Anyway, I now have plans for the weekend.

-via Sora News 24