# 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:** 31
**Author:** ![Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Call_Me.Tim)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/601 "2017-07-18T22:08:43Z")
So, he had a medical condition that he expected to eventually cause blindness, and he planned to kill himself when that occurred. Had he been on the non-smoking train, when it entered a tunnel he would have been mistaken in believing that his condition had worsened and he was now blind, and would therefore have killed himself. Is that correct, and is the puzzle done? ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/602 "2017-07-18T22:13:55Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > **snoe** , I don’t think that’s quite the question you meant to ask. I’ll rephrase it: > Would he have thought he’d gone blind when the train went through the tunnel, if he hadn’t seen the cigarettes? > > And I’ll generalize: > If he had committed suicide, would it have been due to any mistake of fact? > If so, did the light from the lit cigarettes give him the correct information which prevented that mistake? Wait…he would have killed himself because he thought he’d gone blind because the train went through a tunnel, if he hadn’t been able to see the cigarettes? [hijack]I have to comment that that’s ridiculous. I know blind people-- I even know Deaf-blind people, and that’s just, well, kinda offensive, really.[/hijack] OK, back to the game. Was he just diagnosed with some eye disease, and on his way to have it treated, but if he went totally blind before he got to the doctor, they wouldn’t be able to treat it? ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/603 "2017-07-18T22:15:40Z")
Edit: I think **Chronos** ’s rephrasing and **Mahaloth’s** response nailed it down somewhat. Also **Tim’s** questions. 1. So the man would have killed himself because he thought he had gone blind when the train went through the tunnel – except that there were lights from lit cigarettes? 2. Did he have a specific reason for fearing blindness? 2a) if so, was it occupational (e.g., he was a photographer)? 2b) if so, did he have a strong reason to believe he would go blind during this trip? Further Edit: what they said ^^^^^^ ---
**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:** [July 18, 2017, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/604 "2017-07-18T22:16:04Z")
> [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](#): > > So, he had a medical condition that he expected to eventually cause blindness, and he planned to kill himself when that occurred. Had he been on the non-smoking train, when it entered a tunnel he would have been mistaken in believing that his condition had worsened and he was now blind, and would therefore have killed himself. > > Is that correct, and is the puzzle done? Not quite, but I’ll call it anyway because the major work has been done. The full solution is as follows: He had been blind and extremely depressed about it, but received a treatment in Switzerland that was supposed to cure him. He was told not to take off his blindfold, though, for over a week. However, when he was on the train, he could not help but lift the blindfold and peek. They were in a tunnel, total darkness. In his depression he would have killed himself. However, he saw the light of the cigarettes and realized his vision had returned. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Call_Me.Tim)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/605 "2017-07-18T22:28:46Z")
Okay, time for a classic one. As usual for these, if you’ve heard it before please don’t interject, though if you’re sure you know it and I’m offline you can answer for me. A man wearing a backpack lies dead in a remote forest. His cabin is nearby, but no other people are. How did he die? ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/606 "2017-07-18T22:29:29Z")
For Mahaloth: I’m sure there’s a term for this kind of scenario where a person’s motives are on the face of it totally ridiculous but still logically coherent – if there’s not a name already, it deserves to have one taken from some Agatha Christie novel. Not to slag on the puzzle, Mahaloth: I found it interesting and, with answers, solvable – we would’ve figured out the last bit pretty soon. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/607 "2017-07-18T22:37:54Z")
> [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](#): > > A man wearing a backpack lies dead in a remote forest. His cabin is nearby, but no other people are. How did he die? 1. did he intend to return to his cabin? 2. I know this isn’t a yes-or-no question, but I could rephrase it as a series of such questions, so let’s save time: was his death suicide, homicide, accidental, … or other – EDIT: or “none of the above?” ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Call_Me.Tim)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/608 "2017-07-18T22:42:22Z")
> [@snoe](#): > > 1. did he intend to return to his cabin? > 2. I know this isn’t a yes-or-no question, but I could rephrase it as a series of such questions, so let’s save time: was his death suicide, homicide, accidental, … or other? 1. No 2. No to suicide; No to homicide; yes (sort of) to accidental; yes (sort of) to other. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/609 "2017-07-18T22:56:59Z")
> [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](#): > > 1. No > 2. No to suicide; No to homicide; yes (sort of) to accidental; yes (sort of) to other. So it wasn’t a heart attack? ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/610 "2017-07-18T23:02:29Z")
Does “cabin” refer in this case to a small house (made of logs or otherwise)? Is the cabin full sized (not a toy)? Does “people” include only living people, or could there be other dead people? ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Call_Me.Tim)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/611 "2017-07-18T23:02:41Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > So it wasn’t a heart attack? Not a heart attack ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Call_Me.Tim)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/612 "2017-07-18T23:03:53Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > Does “cabin” refer in this case to a small house (made of logs or otherwise)? > > Is the cabin full sized (not a toy)? > > Does “people” include only living people, or could there be other dead people? No Yes Neither any people nor other human corpses are nearby. ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/613 "2017-07-18T23:19:28Z")
Solution guesses: 1. it’s a (full-sized) airplane cabin? 2. The backpack is a parachute? 3. the man was a solo airplane pilot whose parachute didn’t open when the airplane failed? ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/614 "2017-07-18T23:34:58Z")
I’ve got a new one that came up in my history class today. The solution is more interesting than the question, but I’ll throw the question out there: Certain US presidents of the modern era (let’s say WWII and later) are often referred to by their initials. For example, FDR, or LBJ. Others are usually not. While we might write “GWB” or “BHO” in blog comments as shorthand, we don’t often use this shorthand in day-to-day speech – except for some presidents from this timeframe. Why are some of these presidents’ names commonly shortened, while others aren’t? ---
**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:** [July 18, 2017, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/615 "2017-07-18T23:39:08Z")
Did these men go by their initials before they were President? ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/616 "2017-07-18T23:43:08Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Did these men go by their initials before they were President? Good question! Not relevant, as far as I know, though. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/617 "2017-07-18T23:50:34Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Did these men go by their initials before they were President? I don’t know about JFK, and LBJ, but FDR was FDR on his baby announcements, according to a book on presidential trivia I once had, and he was signing his name FDR back in elementary school. ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2017, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/618 "2017-07-18T23:55:03Z")
> [@snoe](#): > > Good question! Not relevant, as far as I know, though. (I am relying on one source for the answer – if it’s wrong, I apologize. But this source’s reasoning – which any of us could duplicate without expert knowledge – is convincing. At least to me.:)) Edit for Rivkah: The bit about FDR sounds plausible – but that doesn’t account for the other presidents who are commonly known by shortened names, and why others aren’t! ---
**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:** [July 18, 2017, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/619 "2017-07-18T23:56:52Z")
Is there really a single factual reason? OR is this some puzzle with a trick answer? I suspect that there are many reasons. Some TLAs just scan and others don’t. Saying President Roosevelt is ambiguous. There have been two of them. However there is only one FDR. Same for President Johnson. And of course, LBJ rhymes so neatly with “kill today.” I suspect that has a lot to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2017, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/620 "2017-07-19T00:00:14Z")
Does it have to do with the art of headline writing in newspapers? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=30) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=32)