# 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:** 44
**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:** [July 31, 2017, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/861 "2017-07-31T02:14:37Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Was the breast that was revealed Janet Jackson’s? Yep. > [@Chronos](#): > > Digging a bit into the recesses of my memory: > > Are the lyrics of the song they were singing immediately before the reveal relevant? > Would Justin Timberlake (I think he was the other singer, right?) have been one of the parties to the “bet”? Yes. And there’s not much more to that portion of the puzzle. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2017, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/862 "2017-08-01T03:08:46Z")
I bored everyone and killed the thread. ☹ 😉 Oh well, if there aren’t any more questions, I’ll post the full solution tomorrow. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2017, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/863 "2017-08-01T15:31:30Z")
During the XXXVIII superbowl half time show in 2004, the breast of Janet Jackson is momentarily exposed in what is generally regarded to be a deliberate stunt\*. The lyrics near the end of the song when it happens are “Let’s make a bet…'cause I bet I’ll have you naked by the end of this song.” TiVos and other DVRs being available at the time, but not yet completely widespread left many viewers wondering if they had really just seen what they thought they had seen. Viewers including Jawed Karim, one of the co-founders of Youtube, who claims that the incident was the inspiration for the website when he had trouble finding a clip of the incident online afterwards. Fast-forwarding to 2017, Youtube is not only responsible for hundreds of petabytes of internet network traffic, it is responsible for hundreds of petabytes every month. Thus, Janet Jackson’s nipple caused the creation of the $30 billion dollar youtube behemoth. \*While the performers have maintained it wasn’t supposed to go as far as it did, it was at least supposed to reveal some of the breast in a lace bra. The associated lyrics cast some doubt on the bra thing. Also, there was a suspiciously decorative nipple adornment… ---
**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:** [August 1, 2017, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/864 "2017-08-01T19:09:46Z")
Ah, OK, I thought that petabytes seemed awfully high for that incident. I hadn’t realized that it was one of the inspirations behind YouTube as a whole. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2017, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/865 "2017-08-02T20:34:22Z")
This question is easy to Google, and some people here will already know the answer. If you know it, don’t spoil it. Gilbert & Sullivan’s first collaboration was the opera _Thespis_. It opened to mixed reviews. It ran too long, and the performers were under-rehearsed. G&S tweaked it a bit, removing some of the flaws. After their improvements it was better received. It then had a fairly successful run, being more profitable and running longer than the majority of plays released that season. It is hardly ever performed these days, and never in the original/tweaked form. Why not? ---
**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:** [August 2, 2017, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/866 "2017-08-02T22:07:39Z")
Is there something people today might consider offensive in the opera? ---
**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:** [August 2, 2017, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/867 "2017-08-02T22:12:26Z")
No. ---
**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:** [August 3, 2017, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/868 "2017-08-03T03:39:44Z")
Were there legal troubles concerning the opera? (for instance, a claim of plagiarism) Does the script still exist? Did either of the authors express a wish that it not be performed? More generally: Would it be physically possible for an opera company to perform the original version, if they didn’t care about the consequences? Would there be legal consequences to performing the original version? If the original were performed, would it be likely to sell a significant number of tickets? (keeping in mind that G&S completionists would probably want to see a “lost play”, regardless of quality) ---
**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:** [August 3, 2017, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/869 "2017-08-03T11:03:37Z")
Were there legal troubles concerning the opera? (for instance, a claim of plagiarism) - No Does the script still exist? - I’d have to say yes. Did either of the authors express a wish that it not be performed? - certainly not Would it be physically possible for an opera company to perform the original version, if they didn’t care about the consequences? - Nope. Would there be legal consequences to performing the original version? - No If the original were performed, would it be likely to sell a significant number of tickets? - Who knows? ---
**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:** [August 3, 2017, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/870 "2017-08-03T11:30:42Z")
Does the work require a castrato singer? ---
**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:** [August 3, 2017, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/871 "2017-08-03T11:37:07Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Does the script still exist? > > - I’d have to say yes. Does the music (score?) still exist? ---
**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:** [August 3, 2017, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/872 "2017-08-03T11:46:05Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Quartz** : > > Does the work require a castrato singer? I thought of this possibility right after I went to bed. ---
**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:** [August 3, 2017, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/873 "2017-08-03T12:14:17Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Does the work require a castrato singer? No > [@Quartz](#): > > Does the music (score?) still exist? Mostly, no. It’s lost. Only three pieces survive. It is speculated that Sullivan reused some of the music in later works, but nothing is known for certain. There have been attempts at reviving the show using the existing script and Sullivasn’s other music, but none have really been successful. ---
**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:** [August 9, 2017, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/874 "2017-08-09T01:26:07Z")
I have a new one. Are we done with the current one or should I wait? I don’t want to interrupt. ---
**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:** [August 9, 2017, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/875 "2017-08-09T01:43:53Z")
Yeah, score lost is pretty much the complete answer. Go ahead. ---
**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:** [August 9, 2017, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/876 "2017-08-09T02:04:21Z")
A man’s house burns down. The man claims that he was sleeping when the fire started and that he managed to save many of his belongings by stuffing them into bags, smashing the window with his cane, hurling the bags out of the window, followed by him climbing out of the window himself. There are no witnesses or cameras that could help investigators determine if it was arson for insurance purposes. However, one investigator does find something to prove it was arson(and it was, by the way). What did the investigator find? ---
**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:** [August 9, 2017, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/877 "2017-08-09T02:06:59Z")
Was the investigator named Columbo, by any chance? ---
**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:** [August 9, 2017, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/878 "2017-08-09T02:29:57Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Was the investigator named Columbo, by any chance? No. ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2017, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/879 "2017-08-09T02:31:39Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > A man’s house burns down. The man claims that he was sleeping when the fire started and that he managed to save many of his belongings by stuffing them into bags, smashing the window with his cane, hurling the bags out of the window, followed by him climbing out of the window himself. > > There are no witnesses or cameras that could help investigators determine if it was arson for insurance purposes. > > However, one investigator does find something to prove it was arson(and it was, by the way). > > What did the investigator find? Was the man blind? ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2017, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/880 "2017-08-09T02:41:46Z")
> [@snoe](#): > > Was the man blind? I should’ve asked: did the man claim to be blind? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=43) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=45)