Some people will always need a source of credibility to take hold to any idea or concept. You know what, we give. But according to the dictionary (what could possibly be more authoritatively correct?), contradictory terms can be used in conjunction, or so says the definition of “oxymoron.” Enjoy a few of our favorite oxymorons, proving one phrase at a time that no two concepts are completely mutually exclusive. Jumbo Shrimp – A literally little reminder that everything is relative. Sure, shrimp may mean small, but this particular prawn is still jumbo when compared to its popcorn brethren. Better Half – What is a half but an equal part of something else? Hopefully, this doesn’t knock your significant other down a peg or two. It’s simply meant to be an example of how emotion can make rationalization illogical. Civil War -Take a lesson from history. At least 620,000 soldiers would argue the conflict could have been handled in a more courteous, civilized manner. Designer T-Shirts – Until Ed Hardy finally sells his last shirt, apparently some people are still willing to believe such a thing exists. Economic Stability -If you are hoping for an end to the Great Recession you better use a little left brain. Economics is a naturally cyclical science, thus cannot be stable. That is, unless, you want it to bottom out entirely. You can’t get more stable than zero. Instant Classic – Should something only being around for a little while preclude it from being timelessly awesome? If you said yes, congrats, you hate babies, puppies and kittens. Read the rest of this entry

Riddle 1 A man leaves home going in a straight line. He takes three lefts and he’s back at home. As he approaches home, he sees two men in masks. Who are they? Riddle 2 Waiting in line for a popular night spot you notice the bouncer is requiring some sort of coded password in order to be admitted. The bouncer greets the first person in line with “8″ to which he responds “5,” then walks into the club. When the second person in line approaches, the bouncer says “6″ to which she replies “3,” then walks into the club. The third person in line matches the bouncer’s “4″ with a “4,” before following suit inside. As you approach the bouncer looks at you and says “1.” What number will get you inside the club? Riddle 3 You are trapped in a room with no doors and no windows, just a table and a mirror. How do you get out? (disclaimer: creative word play required)(Continue on for hints and answers…)

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To steal an idea from Barney Stinson, of CBS’s How I Met Your Mother fame, when something is termed impossible, it’s merely a starting point, not an end-all, be-all, go ahead and go home definitive answer. As Stinson so eloquently put it, “All my life I have dared to go past what is possible.” To the impossible? No, he continues, “Past that, to the place where the possible and impossible meet to become, the possimpible.” Yes, the possimpible is real; in fact, it is well chronicled in human history. Still skeptical? Take a look for yourself

• At one point under a century ago, it was firmly believed that no human being could ever run 5,280 feet in less than 240 seconds. To put it in more common terms, no runner could complete a mile long trek in under 4 minutes, some might say it would take a miracle. When Roger Bannister first accomplished the feat in 1954, clocking in at 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds, he proved legions of disbelievers wrong, simultaneously coining the phrase “Miracle Mile.”
• To say the world revolves around you today is just plain arrogant, but once upon a time all of society claimed the assertion to be a scientific certainty. It wasn’t until the early 1600′s when the astronomer Galileo finally contradicted the widely held conviction that all heavenly bodies circled the Earth. Of course, Galileo is also an example of what’s wrong with attempting to live before your time. Though his good name would be vindicated by research in subsequent eras, Galileo was shunned by religious folk of his time, put on trial by the Inquisition and forced to live out his life on what we might call “house arrest” today. Read the rest of this entry