# 53 bicycles: A lateral thinking puzzle **URL:** \ **Category:** Thread Games\ **Created:** [July 9, 2017, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868 "2017-07-09T19:51:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 107
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2121 "2017-12-05T01:58:30Z")
Are the lack of laces critical to the reason? When you are carrying ice cream are you unable to manipulate laces? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2122 "2017-12-05T02:00:17Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Are the lack of laces critical to the reason? **Yes.** > [@](#): > > When you are carrying ice cream are you unable to manipulate laces? **Yes.** ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2123 "2017-12-05T02:14:12Z")
Not going to guess, since it would be rude to jump in at this late point, when everyone else has already done all the work. But have you heard of elastic laces? My mom used them when she had hip surgery, so she wouldn’t need to worry about tying shoes. Basically turns walking shoes like tennis shoes into slip-ons. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2124 "2017-12-05T02:29:43Z")
Do you need us to be more specific? Is it because if your laces come loose you won’t be able to re-tied them? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2125 "2017-12-05T03:02:43Z")
> [@j666](#): > > Do you need us to be more specific? > > Is it because if your laces come loose you won’t be able to re-tied them? **YES! SOLVED!** **Telemark** really had it, but I wanted to see if anyone would get that the problem is if your laces come undone. I used to walk down to my favorite ice cream parlor in sneakers. Then one day I was walking home eating my delicious two-scoop waffle cone when I realized that my shoelace was untied, and that there is absolutely no way to tie your shoe while holding an ice cream cone. Not wanting to stand still for another 15 minutes until the cone was finished, I ended up asking a random passing stranger if he would mind tying my shoe for me. Fortunately, he was gracious enough to assist. And that is why I have a rule that I can’t wear sneakers when I go out for ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2126 "2017-12-05T03:04:21Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Not going to guess, since it would be rude to jump in at this late point, when everyone else has already done all the work. > > But have you heard of elastic laces? My mom used them when she had hip surgery, so she wouldn’t need to worry about tying shoes. Basically turns walking shoes like tennis shoes into slip-ons. Oh yes, I know that there are alternatives. But I love my lace-up tennis shoes, I just have to remember not to wear them when I’m going to be walking with an ice cream cone. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2127 "2017-12-05T03:24:29Z")
And the tennis shoes I just kicked off are Velcro, for what it’s worth. EDIT: But it was a good puzzle. Lots of obvious dead ends, but the final answer, when it came, made sense. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2128 "2017-12-05T03:54:46Z")
That was a good puzzle, really enough information in the puzzle to work a way to the answer, AND it makes sense, and there really aren’t a thousand possible answer. > [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > **No.** > > Aside unrelated to the puzzle: These are not my [shoes](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/7d/a7/21/7da721dbde8ee52b5dcb16b63b24f4a9--ice-cream-shoes-cream-high-heels.jpg). But this is just too sad. You should have those shoes ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2129 "2017-12-05T13:31:06Z")
I was thinking you didn’t want ice cream dripping on your sneakers and couldn’t get out of that box. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2130 "2017-12-06T00:09:10Z")
\*\*Recently, a man showed up at a hospital claiming to be deathly ill. He was actually quite healthy, though. He was _not mentally ill. What was his motive?_ ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2131 "2017-12-06T00:17:22Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > \*\*Recently, a man showed up at a hospital claiming to be deathly ill. He was actually quite healthy, though. He was _not mentally ill. What was his motive?_ Was he interested in evaluating how well he’d be treated? Did he just need a place to get away? Did they keep him overnight? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2132 "2017-12-06T00:41:51Z")
Was his motive financial? Was his motive to conduct an experiment? Was he aware that he was not deathly ill? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2133 "2017-12-06T01:11:12Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Was he interested in evaluating how well he’d be treated? NO > > Did he just need a place to get away? NO > > Did they keep him overnight? NO > [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > Was his motive financial? NO > > Was his motive to conduct an experiment? NO > > Was he aware that he was not deathly ill? YES Embedded. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2134 "2017-12-06T01:47:37Z")
Was it necessary to his purpose to claim to be deathly ill (if he had claimed to only have a minor injury that required hospital treatment, could he have achieved the same result)? Did he need to be examined to achieve his motive? Did he need to receive treatment to achieve his motive? ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2135 "2017-12-06T02:30:06Z")
Did the hospital personnel know he would come in claiming to be deathly ill? Did he think he was unable to hear at some point? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2136 "2017-12-06T17:46:17Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > Was it necessary to his purpose to claim to be deathly ill (if he had claimed to only have a minor injury that required hospital treatment, could he have achieved the same result)? NO > > Did he need to be examined to achieve his motive? NO > > Did he need to receive treatment to achieve his motive? NO > [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Did the hospital personnel know he would come in claiming to be deathly ill? NO > > Did he think he was unable to hear at some point?NO Embedded. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2137 "2017-12-06T18:08:43Z")
Was “Deathly Ill” his name? Does “deathly ill” mean something in another language? Was the hospital something else besides a medical facility? Is the man an actor? Did he go to the wrong address? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2138 "2017-12-06T18:17:36Z")
Was he testing the system in some way? Either for quality of care or for some type of bias (ethnic/racial)? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2139 "2017-12-06T18:27:34Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Was “Deathly Ill” his name? NO > > Does “deathly ill” mean something in another language? NO > > Was the hospital something else besides a medical facility? NO > > Is the man an actor? NO > > Did he go to the wrong address? NO > [@Telemark](#): > > Was he testing the system in some way? Either for quality of care or for some type of bias (ethnic/racial)? NO and NO Embedded. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2140 "2017-12-06T18:43:58Z")
Was he trying to gain access to some area of the hospital that he would not otherwise have access to? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=106) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=108)