# 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:** 119
**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:** [January 10, 2018, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2361 "2018-01-10T13:40:09Z")
Did the test show that Jimmy was pregnant? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2362 "2018-01-10T14:06:43Z")
Was it an eye test? Was it a test for colour blindness? ---
**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:** [January 10, 2018, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2363 "2018-01-10T18:27:10Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Did the test show that Jimmy was pregnant? NO > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Was it an eye test? YES > > Was it a test for colour blindness? NO Need a bit more on this for it to be called “solved”. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2018, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2364 "2018-01-10T18:41:29Z")
Was the examiner twenty feet from something other than Jimmy? Was he twenty feet from an eye chart or a projection of an eye chart? Did Jimmy’s cheating inadvertently have him reading the wrong letters or the wrong chart? ---
**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:** [January 10, 2018, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2365 "2018-01-10T18:45:42Z")
Did the test involve readiness for military service? Did Jimmy want to fail the test? ---
**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:** [January 10, 2018, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2366 "2018-01-10T18:52:46Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Did the test show that Jimmy was pregnant? 🙂 The test also showed he had gonorrhea, he needed an oil change, and if he doesn’t stop certain activities his tennis elbow is going to get much worse. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2018, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2367 "2018-01-10T19:04:36Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > Was the examiner twenty feet from something other than Jimmy? NO > > Was he twenty feet from an eye chart or a projection of an eye chart? NO > > Did Jimmy’s cheating inadvertently have him reading the wrong letters or the wrong chart? YES > [@Chronos](#): > > Did the test involve readiness for military service? YES > > Did Jimmy want to fail the test? NO I think we have it. Anyone want to summarize a full solution? ---
**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:** [January 10, 2018, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2368 "2018-01-10T19:17:27Z")
Jimmy, wanting to get in the military but knowing that he would fail the eye test, obtained what he thought was the eye chart being used and sneaked it into the eye exam. However, since he had the wrong chart, the Examiner knew immediately that Jimmy was cheating even though he was 20 feet away and had his back turned. ? ---
**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:** [January 10, 2018, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2369 "2018-01-10T20:37:18Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > Jimmy, wanting to get in the military but knowing that he would fail the eye test, obtained what he thought was the eye chart being used and sneaked it into the eye exam. However, since he had the wrong chart, the Examiner knew immediately that Jimmy was cheating even though he was 20 feet away and had his back turned. > > ? Done! Solved! ---
**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:** [January 10, 2018, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2370 "2018-01-10T20:56:09Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > 🙂 The test also showed he had gonorrhea, he needed an oil change, and if he doesn’t stop certain activities his tennis elbow is going to get much worse. I was thinking that episode from _House_, where a stoner used his girlfriend’s urine to try to pass a piss test, and House told him he was pregnant. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2018, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2371 "2018-01-10T22:01:36Z")
I have another, but somebody, please go first. I’ll go if no one else has one in the next few hours. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2018, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2372 "2018-01-12T15:04:36Z")
I’ll try one. **A place in Europe is indirectly responsible for the deaths of 80 million people. How?** ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2373 "2018-01-12T15:09:26Z")
The art school that rejected Hitler’s application? ---
**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:** [January 12, 2018, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2374 "2018-01-12T15:56:36Z")
I’m reminded of the old comic-book explanation for why Superman didn’t serve in the military in World War II: During the eye test, he accidentally read the chart from the next room over, and got four-effed. But moving on: Were the 80 million people (primarily) in Europe? Was World War II involved? Was war, in general, involved? Was disease involved? Would any of the deaths have been regarded as a crime? Would the majority of the deaths have been regarded as crimes? If it were not for this specific place, could some other place have led to the same result? Is the “place” a… Country? Region of a country? City? Company or other institution within a city? ---
**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:** [January 12, 2018, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2375 "2018-01-12T16:30:43Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > The art school that rejected Hitler’s application? No, but you’re warm. ---
**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:** [January 12, 2018, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2376 "2018-01-12T16:36:18Z")
Answers inline > [@Chronos](#): > > Were the 80 million people (primarily) in Europe? **Yes** > > Was World War II involved? **Yes** > > Was war, in general, involved? **Yes** > > Was disease involved? **Not a big factor** > > Would any of the deaths have been regarded as a crime? **war** > > Would the majority of the deaths have been regarded as crimes? **war** > > If it were not for this specific place, could some other place have led to the same result? **Possibly, but the numbers would have been different** > > Is the “place” a… > Country? **No** > > Region of a country? **No** > > City? **Yes** > > Company or other institution within a city? **No** ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2377 "2018-01-12T16:56:34Z")
Is it the city of the seminary that rejected Stalin? Was Stalin involved? Was Hitler involved? Was Mao involved? Edit: for the purposes of this question, how are you defining Europe? ---
**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:** [January 12, 2018, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2378 "2018-01-12T18:59:15Z")
Answers inline > [@Quartz](#): > > Is it the city of the seminary that rejected Stalin? **No** > > Was Stalin involved? **Yes** > Was Hitler involved? **Yes** > Was Mao involved? **No** > > Edit: for the purposes of this question, how are you defining Europe? > [Europe - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe) ---
**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:** [January 12, 2018, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2379 "2018-01-12T23:16:57Z")
Is the city Vienna? Does it have to do with the time when Stalin, Trotsky, Hitler, and Freud all lived within 5 miles of each other? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2380 "2018-01-12T23:46:48Z")
Yalta? Potsdam? Moscow? (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=118) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=120)