# 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:** 141
**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:** [March 23, 2018, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2801 "2018-03-23T22:05:45Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Could it happen in the United States? Let me clarify. Some aspects of this might have been possible in the US, but others might not be. Break it down and I can clarify which parts could and could not happen here. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2802 "2018-03-24T05:27:07Z")
“Was he hung by the neck until dead” ? ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2803 "2018-03-24T05:51:21Z")
You said Rex was killed judicially by a gun, but said “executioner”, singular. One would expect a judicial execution by gun to have multiple executioners in a firing squad. - Was Rex shot by one person? - Was Rex facing a firing squad? Rex only “kind of” caused the death of someone else, which would appear to rule out murder. Was Rex guilty of any of the following: - Counter-revolutionary or political crimes? - Bribery? - Embezzlement? - Drug-trafficking? - Smuggling? - Other economic crimes? - Other malpractice, negligence or dereliction of duty? - Rape or similar? ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2804 "2018-03-24T13:44:48Z")
Which of the following could happen in the US: The first “investment” (the one that worked)? The second “investment”? The way the second “investment” went wrong? The other person’s death? The way Rex was caught? Rex’s conviction? Rex’s death? ---
**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:** [March 24, 2018, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2805 "2018-03-24T15:49:52Z")
> [@MonkeyMensch](#): > > “Was he hung by the neck until dead” ? NO > [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > You said Rex was killed judicially by a gun, but said “executioner”, singular. One would expect a judicial execution by gun to have multiple executioners in a firing squad. > > - Was Rex shot by one person? IRRELEVANT (I think one person) > - Was Rex facing a firing squad? IRRELEVANT (I think one person) > > Rex only “kind of” caused the death of someone else, which would appear to rule out murder. Was Rex guilty of any of the following: > > - Counter-revolutionary or political crimes? NO > - Bribery? NO > - Embezzlement? YES > - Drug-trafficking? NO > - Smuggling? NO > - Other economic crimes? NO > - Other malpractice, negligence or dereliction of duty? Mainly embezzlement/stealing. > - Rape or similar? NO > [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Which of the following could happen in the US: > > The first “investment” (the one that worked)? YES > > The second “investment”? It’s the same investment, but failed. YES > > The way the second “investment” went wrong? YES > > The other person’s death? NO > > The way Rex was caught? YES > > Rex’s conviction? YES > > Rex’s death? NO I don’t think he’d be executed here. I think everything else could happen. I’ll also tell you the year even though it hardly matters. Embezzlement: 2007. Execution: 2008. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2018, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2806 "2018-03-26T18:36:53Z")
Did the crime and execution take place in Asia? ---
**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:** [March 26, 2018, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2807 "2018-03-26T21:26:31Z")
> [@MonkeyMensch](#): > > Did the crime and execution take place in Asia? Yes, in China. Execution more common there, even for embezzlement. However, it wasn’t just regular embezzlement, like scraping pennies off the dollar or anything. I’d focus now on figuring out the circumstances that lead to his execution. What did he do? What worked the first time? How did this situation happen? Stuff like that. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2018, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2808 "2018-03-28T02:33:31Z")
Did the investment involve… Real estate? Shares in a company or business? Foreign currency? Gambling? A Ponzi scheme? Selling something that didn’t exist? Deception about someone’s identity? Deception about one’s abilities (e.g. pretending to be psychic)? Running a fraudulent enterprise (e.g. a “university” that sells diplomas for cash)? ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2018, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2809 "2018-03-28T03:14:41Z")
Was Rex in government? ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2018, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2810 "2018-03-28T03:49:45Z")
I vaguely remember a news story from China from a years ago, which this might be related to. I’m not sure whether I should reveal my guess yet, since it’s derived from memory rather than deduction. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2018, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2812 "2018-03-28T04:18:41Z")
Reported. ---
**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:** [March 28, 2018, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2813 "2018-03-28T12:21:59Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Did the investment involve… > > Real estate? NO > > Shares in a company or business? NO > > Foreign currency? NO > > Gambling? YES > > A Ponzi scheme? NO > > Selling something that didn’t exist? NO > > Deception about someone’s identity? NO > > Deception about one’s abilities (e.g. pretending to be psychic)? NO > > Running a fraudulent enterprise (e.g. a “university” that sells diplomas for cash)? NO > [@MonkeyMensch](#): > > Was Rex in government? NO > [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > I vaguely remember a news story from China from a years ago, which this might be related to. I’m not sure whether I should reveal my guess yet, since it’s derived from memory rather than deduction. Don’t, you might have it. You can PM me the story you remember. It was in the news a little bit, so you might just have it. I prefer “deduction” over just knowing the answer. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2018, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2814 "2018-03-28T13:28:06Z")
Is gambling generally legal in this jurisdiction? Was the particular type of gambling Rex engaged in legal (assuming one is doing it with one’s own money and hasn’t committed other crimes to get said money)? Was Rex the person doing the gambling? If yes, was it with money that wasn’t rightfully his? If yes to both of the above, does it matter where he got the money from? Was he running a gambling operation (casino, betting shop, Internet poker site, etc.) used by other people? If yes, was the operation rigged in some way? ---
**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:** [March 28, 2018, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2815 "2018-03-28T16:00:43Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Is gambling generally legal in this jurisdiction? NO > > Was the particular type of gambling Rex engaged in legal (assuming one is doing it with one’s own money and hasn’t committed other crimes to get said money)? YES > > Was Rex the person doing the gambling? YES > > If yes, was it with money that wasn’t rightfully his? YES > > If yes to both of the above, does it matter where he got the money from? YES > > Was he running a gambling operation (casino, betting shop, Internet poker site, etc.) used by other people? NO > > If yes, was the operation rigged in some way? NO KK ---
**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:** [March 28, 2018, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2816 "2018-03-28T16:04:39Z")
This being China, did Rex borrow money from the Triads? ---
**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:** [March 28, 2018, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2817 "2018-03-28T22:41:50Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > This being China, did Rex borrow money from the Triads? No. ---
**Author:** ![RadioWave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RadioWave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadioWave)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2018, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2818 "2018-03-28T23:31:20Z")
Was Rex some sort of investment broker? ---
**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:** [March 28, 2018, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2819 "2018-03-28T23:52:38Z")
> [@RadioWave](#): > > Was Rex some sort of investment broker? No. Perhaps someone should summarize everything you know so far? ---
**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:** [March 31, 2018, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2820 "2018-03-31T17:38:29Z")
Give up? ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/2821 "2018-04-04T03:12:23Z")
So, Rex succeeded with his “investment” the first time because: - no-one detected his crime? - corrupt people turned a blind eye? - some other reason? - was Rex acting alone in carrying out his crime, without co-conspirators? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=140) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=142)