# 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:** 173
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/3442 "2018-09-18T03:43:39Z")
**reply to SpoilerVirgin** : Did the general public need to send away to get the report? **No** Was it in some public location that was easily visible? **Yes** Was it printed in a comic book? **No** Was it available in print? **Yes** Or in some other medium? **No** ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/3443 "2018-09-18T04:08:19Z")
Was there a single copy of the report that many people could see? Were there a lot of individual copies? Was the report available free? Was there a cost? Was the content of the report on a single page or image? Was it multiple pages? Was it on paper? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/3444 "2018-09-18T04:20:12Z")
**reply to SpoilerVirgin** : Was there a single copy of the report that many people could see? **No** Were there a lot of individual copies? **Yes** Was the report available free? **Yes** Was there a cost? **No** Was the content of the report on a single page or image? **Yes**. Was it multiple pages? **No** Was it on paper? **Yes** ---
**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:** [September 18, 2018, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/3445 "2018-09-18T16:02:51Z")
Was it a claim about a world record? Was it a claim about something being the biggest or “most” of something? Was it on a billboard? Was it on a radio ad? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/3446 "2018-09-18T16:17:16Z")
**reply to Mahaloth** : Was it a claim about a world record? **No** Was it a claim about something being the biggest or “most” of something? **No** Was it on a billboard? **No** Was it on a radio ad? **No** ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/3447 "2018-09-18T17:30:22Z")
Was the report available from the Mom & Pop store that discovered the lie? Was it available from retail stores in general? Was it available from some other kind of business? Would the people who obtained it have referred to it as something other than a report? Is it currently sold on EBay as something other than a report? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/3448 "2018-09-18T17:47:27Z")
**reply to SpoilerVirgin** : Was the report available from the Mom & Pop store that discovered the lie? **No** \* Was it available from retail stores in general? **No, not retail stores in general.** Was it available from some other kind of business? **Just select locations** Would the people who obtained it have referred to it as something other than a report? **Yes** Is it currently sold on EBay as something other than a report? **Yes** - Beware of facts assumed but not proven ++++ Hate to go to work now that a breakthrough may be close, but oh well. I will be back to answer anything else tonight unless someone puts all the facts together and solves it first. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/3449 "2018-09-18T18:04:03Z")
Is it currently sold as something that we would consider written material - a pamphlet, flyer, map, book, drawing, sheet music, calendar, etc.? Is it currently sold as something that we would not generally consider written material, but that in this case has writing on it - a cereal box, clothing, a container, jewelry, etc.? Is it currently sold as something that we would not generally consider written material that is itself the report? Is the “report” an image rather than something written? Is the “report” an object rather than something written? ---
**Author:** ![hammos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@hammos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammos1)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/3450 "2018-09-18T20:00:49Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > That lie was about land. **Specifically, it was about the location of the land** Can we get a clarification on this point? This was confirmed in post 3340 but when I asked what I thought was the same question (Was the lie was about the location of a particular piece of land?) I got ‘No’ as an answer. ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/3451 "2018-09-18T20:33:06Z")
Just to clarify, the report was a lie when written but became true later, correct? Did the lie becoming true have to do with: changing national borders? changing state borders? changing county borders? changing town borders? creation of a new tow, county or state? anything that would change a map? the land in question being in a different town/county/state/nation than previously thought? ---
**Author:** ![hammos1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ba8739/32.png) [@hammos1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammos1)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/3452 "2018-09-18T20:40:54Z")
Aha, I have the answer- but I won’t reveal it, as I got it through Google more than anything else. I think that ‘Yes’ is a fair answer to the question ‘Was the lie about the location of a particular piece of land?’ but I can see there’s some ambiguity there. Biotop- was this puzzle inspired by a recent movie? ---
**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:** [September 18, 2018, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/3453 "2018-09-18T21:28:32Z")
Are the copies of the report now considered collectibles? Did the mom-and-pop store ever relevantly buy items from their customers? ---
**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:** [September 18, 2018, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/3454 "2018-09-18T21:50:17Z")
Is this a change in land due to geological changes? Sent from my BND-L34 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/3455 "2018-09-19T02:28:35Z")
\*\*Reply to SpoilerVirgin \*\*: Is it currently sold as something that we would consider written material - a pamphlet, flyer, map, book, drawing, sheet music, calendar, etc.? \*\*Yes \*\* Is it currently sold as something that we would not generally consider written material, but that in this case has writing on it - a cereal box, clothing, a container, jewelry, etc.? \*\*No \*\* Is it currently sold as something that we would not generally consider written material that is itself the report? \*\*No \*\* Is the “report” an image rather than something written? \*\*both \*\* Is the “report” an object rather than something written?\*\* No \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/3456 "2018-09-19T02:30:59Z")
> [@hammos1](#): > > Can we get a clarification on this point? This was confirmed in post 3340 but when I asked what I thought was the same question (Was the lie was about the location of a particular piece of land?) I got ‘No’ as an answer. **I do not think the lie is about the location of a particular piece of land. The site location was never in dispute.** ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/3457 "2018-09-19T02:37:36Z")
**reply to Regallag\_The\_Axe** : Just to clarify, the report was a lie when written but became true later, correct? \*\*Yes \*\* Did the lie becoming true have to do with: changing national borders? \*\*No \*\* changing state borders? \*\*No \*\* changing county borders? \*\*No \*\* changing town borders? \*\*No \*\* creation of a new tow, county or state? \*\*Yes \*\* anything that would change a map? \*\*Yes \*\* the land in question being in a different town/county/state/nation than previously thought? **Yes** ---
**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:** [September 19, 2018, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/3458 "2018-09-19T02:48:58Z")
Did an oil company put out a report claiming they got their oil from the USA, but were really getting it from Canada? And then…it turned out later the land(off shore perhaps) was actually in USA territory? Or vice versa, switching Canada and US? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/3459 "2018-09-19T03:17:00Z")
> [@hammos1](#): > > Aha, I have the answer- but I won’t reveal it, as I got it through Google more than anything else. I think that ‘Yes’ is a fair answer to the question ‘Was the lie about the location of a particular piece of land?’ but I can see there’s some ambiguity there. > > Biotop- was this puzzle inspired by a recent movie? I found out about the movie googling the details later. I was unaware of it when I posted the puzzle. When answering your question, I was thinking about the physical location of the land, to which everyone agreed. But I yes there is ambiguity… which is often the case with these kind of puzzles. I tried to answer as best I could. It would be interested to know how you googled it. You must have figured out the general nature of the lie to do so, right? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/3460 "2018-09-19T03:20:10Z")
\*\*reply to Chronos \*\*: Are the copies of the report now considered collectibles? **I suppose so. But most anything old is collected by someone.😛** Did the mom-and-pop store ever relevantly buy items from their customers? \*\*No \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/3461 "2018-09-19T03:21:37Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Is this a change in land due to geological changes? \*\*No \*\* [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=172) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=174)