# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/101 "2017-07-12T15:59:19Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Does “bicycle” in this context refer to the two-wheeled vehicle one can sit astride, propel via pedals, and so convey oneself from one location to another? > > I figure I ought to confirm that, because this is getting kind of confusing. > [@Biotop](#): > > Yes. > [@Riemann](#): > > Are these parts from a full-sized real bicycle that a person would ride? > [@Biotop](#): > > No to question #1. There would seem to be a contradiction here. Or maybe not because you are quite devious. Is there any change you would make to those answers? ---
**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:** [July 12, 2017, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/102 "2017-07-12T16:29:53Z")
Bicycle pretty much means one thing. The definition \*\*Chronos \*\* gives is that one thing. That’s the context of the yes answer. I struggled a bit before answering **Riemann** ’s question. I finally decided that “no” was the less deceptive answer. I appeal to a certain French surrealist. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/103 "2017-07-12T16:32:15Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > No to question #1. > > The second question is also difficult to answer. The parts are being used exactly as they were are intended to be used. So are these “bicycle parts” parts of images of a bicycle? ---
**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:** [July 12, 2017, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/104 "2017-07-12T16:35:54Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > So are these “bicycle parts” parts of images of a bicycle? Uh oh…😉 Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/105 "2017-07-12T16:36:09Z")
…something along the lines of: You have family photos that you’re putting in an album, in some of which part of a bicycle is visible. The key misdirection being the alternate meaning of “bicycle parts”. ---
**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:** [July 12, 2017, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/106 "2017-07-12T16:38:39Z")
Close. What is a common reason for having multiple parts on a table? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/107 "2017-07-12T16:38:53Z")
Oh, a jigsaw. ---
**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:** [July 12, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/108 "2017-07-12T16:43:17Z")
[You got it!](https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fimages-na.ssl-images-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FI%2F819VjUcHPKL._SX355_.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FEduca-Amsterdam-Bike-Puzzle-3000-Piece%2Fdp%2FB00I03R7UA&docid=A4viqliIie0xRM&tbnid=tAZRJyye0hEarM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwjAhKL3l4TVAhUJPj4KHVgWCiAQMwg6KAEwAQ..i&w=355&h=262&client=ms-android-verizon&bih=560&biw=360&q=educa%20bicycle%203000%20puzzle&ved=0ahUKEwjAhKL3l4TVAhUJPj4KHVgWCiAQMwg6KAEwAQ&iact=mrc&uact=8) ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/109 "2017-07-12T16:49:29Z")
It’s a nice riddle. I can see that it creates quite a difficulty in answering questions, though. When I rephrased Chronos’s question it was because I did not think that his phrasing had quite eliminated models or representations of the thing, although I obviously hadn’t quite got all the way to “image” at that point. I follow bike (road) racing, and I couldn’t get out of my head some silly lego-style dioramas that a guy used to make to represent key events in bike races (although that was way too obscure to be the answer). I’ll see if I can track down some of the images. ---
**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 12, 2017, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/110 "2017-07-12T20:13:46Z")
Whew. I can’t believe someone got it. I was going to ask for a hint. ---
**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:** [July 12, 2017, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/111 "2017-07-12T20:22:48Z")
My art history weakness is showing. Magritte was Belgian. ---
**Author:** ![RadioWave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RadioWave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadioWave)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/112 "2017-07-12T20:55:16Z")
Here’s one I came up with a few years back… It concerns the famed seventeenth century writers Miguel Cervantes and William Shakespeare, who both died in 1616 on April 22nd and 23rd respectively. After witnessing Cervantes’ last breath in Madrid, a man hopped on a horse and rode 200 miles to the nearest port. There, he hopped on a ship which, due to poor winds, took three days to reach London. Once there, he took an overnight carriage to Stratford-upon-Avon where he walked up to a house, went into a bedroom and said “Cervantes is dead”. William Shakespeare (the author himself) looked at him and said “That sucks”. How is this possible? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/113 "2017-07-12T21:05:07Z")
Spain was using a different calendar which had April 22 happening several days before April 23 happened in England? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/114 "2017-07-12T21:07:23Z")
The adjustment from Julian to Gregorian calendar happened around this time, and in a pretty haphazard way. From reading The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson I know that calendars were still out of whack in different countries in the late 17th century. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/115 "2017-07-12T21:09:32Z")
Yup, looks like Spain was among the early adopters, removing 10 days in 1582. U.K. did not adjust until 1752. And Turkey in 1927! > **[From Julian to Gregorian Calendar](https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/julian-gregorian-switch.html)** > > The Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1582 in some countries. The US, Canada, and the UK changed in 1752. Why were some days skipped? ---
**Author:** ![RadioWave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RadioWave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadioWave)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/116 "2017-07-12T21:17:28Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Spain was using a different calendar which had April 22 happening several days before April 23 happened in England? Got it in one! ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/117 "2017-07-12T21:32:54Z")
Ok, I’ve got another one. Part of a police manual gives instructions in a language that none of the police officers speak. Why? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/118 "2017-07-12T21:42:02Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Ok, I’ve got another one. > > Part of a police manual gives instructions in a language that none of the police officers speak. Why? It is written in classical Chinese. To be pedantic: Chinese per se is written but never spoken. The spoken languages are Cantonese and Manderin OR It is in sign language although that may be difficult to put in a manual. ---
**Author:** ![RadioWave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RadioWave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadioWave)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/119 "2017-07-12T21:50:56Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Ok, I’ve got another one. > > Part of a police manual gives instructions in a language that none of the police officers speak. Why? I know the words used to train police dogs are usually in a foreign language so the suspect can’t confuse the dog by giving a different command (unless he happens to speak Hungarian or something). Is that it? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2017, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868/120 "2017-07-12T21:58:50Z")
> [@RadioWave](#): > > I know the words used to train police dogs are usually in a foreign language so the suspect can’t confuse the dog by giving a different command (unless he happens to speak Hungarian or something). Is that it? That was quick! Yeah, the story goes, police dogs are often trained in a language not commonly spoken where they are deployed so as to reduce the chance the criminal can mess with the dog. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/53-bicycles-a-lateral-thinking-puzzle/790868.md?page=7)