A very interesting article in yesterday’s New York Times explains that our brains are often at their most active, creative and effective when trying to process bad instructions, misinformation, or trying to find patterns when no signs are present. The accompanying image (pictured) shows a blank road sign on a desert road, which got us to thinking: maybe nonsense signs are good for us.

We’d always assumed that unreadable street signs would cause chaos and mass confusion, but perhaps they’d actually elevate the masses by forcing us to figure routes, roads and directions on our own. Maybe we wouldn’t need maps anymore and every person would be their own super-intuitive global positioning system. Probably not, but it’s still fun to look at the 20 Challenging Road Signs that might get us there.

Weird-looking duck you’ve got there!

No, you cannot have it both ways.

Wandering travelers in stereotypical dress for the next 2 k.

That seems like a challenging road to tackle at 45 mph.

Aw, that’s sweet.

No loud swearing, motherf*%$ers!

Thanks for clearing that up.

Doesn’t the fact that we’re reading you mean you are in use, Mr. existential sign?

Funny, that humped zebra looks an awful lot like a human.

Well, at least you’ve been warned.

Form a wagon circle, in other words.

Gotta be in New Zealand somewhere.

Must be a cobble-stoned street. Either that or the fashion police is out in full force.

Gotta watch out for those floating cars. This must be near Roswell, New Mexico.

Don’t ride on magic flying carpets that might fray in mid-flight.

Aw, how reassuring!

Watch for giant, telepathic moose who’ll destroy your car without even touching it.

Similarly, watch out for giant mosquitoes that will take you back to their swamp for probing.

If you are driving a car that is on fire or exploding, you may not take this road.

If the first sign doesn’t work, just keep asking.